Spring Has Sprung

The time has come the walrus said to think of all things Spring.

Crocuses are the harbingers of warm weather - even when they're covered in snow. While daffodils and tulips are, undoubtedly, the most recognizable of all spring flowers, the tiny, hardy, oft-eaten-by-rabbits crocus is the very first flower to push up through the leftover leaves and the bits of morning frost. All hail the crocus!

Dead leaves and yard-waste pickup are the first spring-time stress inducers. There's always a layer of debris left because we get tired of trying to keep up with all the raking in the fall. How can one oak tree drop so many damn leaves? Really. And, unfortunately, the streets department won't give an exact date for yard waste pick up so you have to suss it out based on your garbage pick up day and how many houses are in a particular neighborhood and whether the crow flies at midnight. If you're lucky, you'll get your yard waste out before they come to pick it up but not, like, two weeks before because then the wind just blows the crap back up onto your lawn. *sigh*

Seed catalogs, garden centers, and (if you live in Madison) chicken catalogs bring the thrill of anticipation. There's nothing more satisfying than planning your summer garden. Planning. Not doing. Plans are grand and ambitious. The reality is usually less so. But the pouring over catalogs or meandering through the garden center fills your heart with inspiration and anticipation. Grandiose visions aside, the process of planning, buying, and creating a garden is an absolute joy.

Sunshine makes everything better. Warm, comforting, energy-giving, life-affirming sunshine. The days are longer and the desire to be outside is overwhelming. Fresh air, exercise, seeing neighbors who have been hibernating for months - these are all a result of sunshine. It's a powerful, wonderful thing. The sun rocks.

http://bit.ly/gp7HEY

 Breaking out the bicycle is a sure sign that spring has sprung. If it's warm enough to comfortably ride a bike, winter is officially over. Of course, it's possible that you may wait until the actual day you WANT to ride your bike to realize that it needs to go to the shop for the spring tune up. The tires are flat, the gears need greasing and you're stuck waiting until the next weekend to enjoy the freedom of tooling around town with the wind in your hair.

The bike of my dreams

And, finally, the best sign of spring are those occasional days when it's warm enough to open the windows in the house and air out the months of closed-up stuffiness. Madison was blessed with a couple of those days this past week and, for the first time in months, the house felt light and airy and free.

Happy springtime everyone. Revel in the beauty. Soak up the joy. Feel GREAT about the coming months.

- Alex

Come Along for the Ride

As I pondered what to write today, I considered all the just-finished and half-done projects I could tell you about. I have a variety of knitting and sewing projects in the works, knitting projects cast-off, and a whole host of other crafty pursuits scattered about my home. Shockingly, the weather was glorious this past weekend and so I spent hours and hours outdoors digging in the dirt (which means it's getting time for some posts about gardening.) But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that what I really wanted to talk about was the creative process that allows me to accomplish all these things.

I spend a lot of my life "creating." I'm a graphic designer by trade and a crafty maniac by passion. As I result, people often ask me, "how did you think of that?" And, while there is no road map to a clever idea, every individual has some sort of creative process. Identifying and developing those sparks of creativity is the skill that we should all nurture.

I have piles of sketchbooks with ideas old and new.

The difference between a well-executed creative idea and a mediocre one, is learning how to push your initial idea to the next level. Let me give you an example of MY creative process and how I took a seed of an idea and made it into something I'm really proud of:

As you all may be aware, Thing 1 has a Sesame Street-themed bedroom. I have been thinking about drapes for his room lately but no needle has actually touched fabric - yet. To get to a finished product, I started by scouring the internet for Sesame Street fabric options. Of course. Buying pre-printed fabric is the second easiest solution for having themed curtains in that room (first easiest solution would be buying already-made Sesame Street curtains, obviously.) There were some pretty cute fabric choices but nothing that really "wow'd" me. So, I started deconstructing the idea a bit by thinking in terms of a single color or a single, clean pattern that would coordinated with the room but wasn't really obviously Sesame Street. I decided that, if I pursued this line of thinking, the curtains would have looked fine, but not have the impact I was hoping for. Then, sticking with the idea of simplicity, I thought about focusing on just one Sesame Street character. Maybe then it would be more dramatic? So, I sketched ideas for Elmo, Big Bird and Kermit curtains but it wasn't until I starting playing around with ideas for "Count Curtains" that I got pretty excited and could actually visualize what they would look like in the room. It's important to recognize inspiration when it happens and give it a long leash. I knew that, when I was able to fully "see" the Count curtains with such ease, this was the right path to follow.

This album cover is big-time inspiration.

The walls of that room are a lively celery green and the window is really large so the draperies need to be bold. I visualized purple velvet curtains with wool-felt numbers hand-sewn all over them. Dramatic, lovely, and unusual. That purple will be a welcome addition to an already colorful room.

Getting an idea from a seed to a full-grown plan is, to use an old quote, two parts perspiration and one part inspiration. Some ideas (like this one) have only a few steps to inspiration...some have many, many more. Sometimes pushing an idea takes time, that is why projects in my house are in various stages of "done". It is more important to me to know that I've done something well, rather than just quickly. Now, I will admit that I've been at this for many, many years so the process comes to me faster than someone who hasn't. It's true that creativity is a muscle, you need to work it out to be in good shape. If only I could be so motivated to exercise my body! :)

–Cassandra

Magical Beans

http://normandapito.deviantart.com

As our regular readers know, Cassandra and I rather love spooky stuff like Halloween, Ghost Hunters, Catholocism, and psychics, just to name a few.

As a kid, I was already indoctrinated into the idea of the paranormal through the teachings of the church. Virgin birth, coming back after you've died, "knowing all" from some throne in the sky.... Then, as a young, disenfranchised teen, I acquired a "next to the cash register" book called Everyday Witchcraft. It was a pocket-sized paper-back with a black cat on the cover and it contained a short history of witchcraft, definitions, and a bunch of spells. While I can't speak to the authenticity of any of it and will admit that I never actually had the guts to really try the spells, there was always something comforting about the idea that I could control my world with these simple conjures. Witchcraft also puts all the power at the hands of women so...you know... that was pretty appealing too.

Not my original book

Recently, Cassandra and I had the opportunity to speak with Miss Cat Yronwode of the Lucky Mojo Curio Company. Lucky Mojo sells all the bells and whistles you need to do magic. The site describes itself as follows:

Lucky Mojo is both an online magic shop and a real magic store that you can visit. We carry a full line of hand-made spiritual supplies, including occult oils, incense, powders, candles, herbs, mojo bags, spiritual soaps, books, and spell kits for those who cast magic spells, love spells, money spells, and protection spells in the African-American hoodoo, Pagan magick, and other Witchcraft traditions. We also import and distribute folkloric magical, occult, herbal, and spiritual supplies
from Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East for those who work in Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, and Jewish religious and magical traditions. We sell retail and wholesale, both on the internet and at our old-timey, small-town occult shop.

www.luckymojo.com

We love Lucky Mojo for many reasons, not the least of which is the gorgeous use of retro graphics on the site. We are also very enamored of Miss Cat for her generosity of spirit and her amazing business brain. To get a great sense of Miss Cat and her milieu, please listen to her podcast The Lucky Mojo Hoodoo Rootwork Hour - I promise you'll be entertained.

In our conversation with Miss Cat the other day, she suggested that Cassandra and I participate in the Rootwork Recipe Roundup. It's best to explain this by quoting from the site:

All recipes submitted to the annual Rootwork Recipe Round-Up are collected into a small "church cook book" format publication prepared by the The Ladies' Auxiliary of Missionary Independent Spiritual Church.

The recipe must contain ingredients that, through their magical ascriptions, will address some condition. For example, basil is meant to promote a happy home and family, lemongrass is a cleansing herb, and fennel is used to "keep the law away."

I started looking at the food ascriptions and realized that I have one recipe in my regular rotation that, with a couple of minor tweaks, would basically contain all ingredients for luck and protection. So, without further ado, I'd like to present you with our entry into the Hoodoo Foods! Rootwork Recipe Roundup. Seeing as it's a church cookbook, we couldn't help but go with a one-pot dish... Enjoy!

- Alex, The Enchanter

One Pot Protection

• 2 cans of cannellini beans (or dry beans soaked overnight*) [good luck]

• 1 small, sweet onion diced  [protection and energy]

• 2 (or more) cloves of garlic diced  [protection from evil]

• ½ a bunch of collard greens, stems removed, cleaned, coarsely chopped or cut into strips [luck with money]

• 3 (or more) tablespoons of mild yellow mustard [protection]

• A few drops of honey or a pinch of high-quality sugar

• Olive oil to cover the bottom of the pot

• Horseradish to taste

• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook for approximately one minute stirring constantly. Add the chopped collards and cook, stirring constantly, until greens are wilted and slightly soft. Add the mustard, sugar, and horseradish and stir to cover the collards completely. Continue cooking until the mustard has “caramelized” on the collards – approximately 2-3 minutes. Add the beans and stir well to combine.* Cook until the beans have heated through. Serve hot with a nice piece of bread.

This recipe has the added protection of being low-fat, low-sodium, and great for lowering your cholesterol!

*If you choose to use dry beans that have soaked, you may need to add some additional moisture to the pot. A little veggie stock or simply water would probably suffice.

Film Frenzy

Imagine, if you will, dumping a bucket of chum into pool containing a large school of piranha.

Now, imagine that those piranha are people and the chum is independent and foreign films of every stripe. 

Welcome to the frenzy that is the 2011 Wisconsin Film Festival! Two hundred and nine films, shown in eight venues, over five days.

The Wisconsin Film Festival is unique in many ways. Because it is, technically, a campus-based film festival, it benefits from its association with the University of Wisconsin. Each year, the Fest's director, Meg Hamel, partners with various departments on campus to bring movies that support that department's subject matter. For example, the UW Department of  Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education was well represented with films about Down Syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, and other maladies. The campus also provides four of the eight screening venues.

Perhaps the best feature of this Fest is that all the venues are within walking distance along Madison's famed State Street - a pedestrian High Street with a huge variety of shops and restaurants - making the getting-to-and-from extremely enjoyable. After a couple of hours in a bleak Romanian "comedy" it's nice to get some fresh air and sun, if even for just 15 minutes between films.

Finally, because it's Wisconsin and it's only polite to do so, there's always a track of films called Wisconsin's Own. These films are made by "filmmakers living in or native to Wisconsin, or students/alumni of Wisconsin universities and colleges." This is how we snagged Feed The Fish starring Tony Shalhoub last year.  Mr. Shalhoub is from Wisconsin originally and this lovely little independent movie was filmed here.

2011 marked the thirteenth year of the Fest. It marked my twelfth as an attendee. The festival has grown a lot since those early years when it started as a Friday night through Sunday thing. Obviously, the total number of films and attendees has grown exponentially. I believe they estimate 35,000 people in attendance each year now. And the programming has evolved into a rich, albeit unpredictable, mix of documentaries and narratives.

For me, this used to be a solitary adventure. I would carefully choose my films and buy my tickets and then, only then, I would tell my friends what I was seeing. If they wanted to join me that was fine, but I didn't compromise my choices for someone else. As the years passed, I started coordinating with friends on certain films and buying films in a block with others to get the volume discount. Then, in 2007, my best friend from Atlanta decided she wanted to come up for the Fest - thus giving birth to the Atlanta/Madison Cultural Exchange. This totally changed the equation and now we choose our films together to maximize the visit. Sometimes I lament the old days of complete film fest freedom but it's outweighed by joy of having my friends here with me for five whole days.

In my heyday, I would see approximately 16 films over the course of four days. Now, with less stamina and out-of-town guests to entertain, my film to day ratio has dropped - to the betterment of all involved. This year I saw 15 movies in 5 days and, while we had plenty of time built in for meals, visits with other friends, and plain-old down-time, I'm still exhausted beyond belief. I must be getting old.

Below you'll find the list of films I saw, with links where possible. We didn't have any total stinkers this time around but I've starred the ones I think you should see if you can. And, if you're ever in Madison in the spring, you should plan it around Wisconsin Film Fest. Look for me in line.

- Alex

• How To Start Your Own Country (documentary) - An intriguing look at "micro-nations", countries that are (sometimes arguably) countries but not recognized by any international body (such as the UN.) One is located in Nevada and has six residence - three of whom are dogs.
• Slightly Unsettling Shorts (short film program) - Of the five short films in this program, the stand-out was The Legend of Beaver Dam.* Someone described it as Glee meets Marilyn Manson at a campground.
• Beneath Hill 60 (narrative feature) - Based on actual events and people, this compelling WWI drama is about the Australian engineers who built tunnels under the European front lines. 

• Made In India * (documentary) - The ultimate outsourcing. A Texas couple hires a surrogate, in India, to carry their embryos. An interesting look at medical tourism and the issues surrounding it.
• Marwencol * (documentary) - Stunning story of a man who, after suffering brain damage as the result of an attack, takes his therapy into his own hands and builds a world called Marwencol.

• The Red Chapel * (documentary) - A raw look at today's North Korea and how they handle a visiting disabled person.
• Circo (documentary) - A fourth-generation circus family in Mexico works hard and tries to survive.
• Potiche * (narrative feature) - Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu shine in this period comedy (1970's) about women's liberation.

• Troll Hunter * (narrative feature) - Trolls exist but the Norwegian government is covering it up. Great CGI monsters, a funny story, and gorgeous scenery.
• The Colors of the Mountain (narrative feature) - In the tropical mountains of Columbia, the kids just want to play soccer and go to school but armed conflict is an always present threat.

• Medal of Honor (narrative feature) - A bleak Romanian "comedy" about a man who is surprised when he receives a medal for his service in WWII.
• Mine Vaganti * (narrative feature) - An hilarious Italian film about love, family duty, and what it is to be gay in Italy today. 

• Summer Pasture (documentary) - Follow a family of nomads in Tibet through a summer season. The nomadic culture is quickly dying out as more and more people settle in towns.
• Anita (narrative feature) - Sad and sweet, a 20-something woman with Down Syndrome finds herself lost in the city and at the mercy of the people she meets on her journey.
• Boy * (narrative feature) - Set in New Zealand in 1984, this quirky dramedy is filled with amazing kid actors and a story that will steal your heart.

The Basics

Sorry for the darkness last week. Sometimes life gets complicated at Chez Ooo! Shiny!

In contrast to the complexities of life, today I'd like to talk about the simplest thing in the world... a knitted little stocking cap. I am just enamored with this FREE pattern from Lion Brand. It's called the Bunny Slope Hat. I have knitted it 3 times now (once because the first one was "lost" after a trip to the grocery store) and aside from the monotonous weaving-in of the loose ends from the color changes, it couldn't be a better way to get some instant gratification.

As you can see, the green cap has been worn and worn and worn again.

Along with having used a basic pattern, I also chose to use a workhorse yarn for these little hats. Spud & Chloe sweater yarn (superwash 55% wool/45% organic cotton) is just the perfect weight and warmth for this sort of project. Luckily, I have used this yarn for a lot of other projects so my stash is full of remnants that were the perfect amount to get the job done. Now, I will admit to having purchased a skein here and there to get my color scheme the way I wanted it though!

Thing 2 modeling his green hat and 4th of July pajamas for me today.

From what I have seen on Ravelry, a lot of folks are taking creative license with this pattern. Stripes are wider or smaller, less color or more color, and there is even one hat with an enormous pom-pon that is seriously cute.

Back when I was searching Ravelry for a the perfect hat pattern to match a new coat, I was surprised at how many didn't suit a little boy. So many were either too girly or too mature for a preschooler. I think it was the colorful stripes that finally sucked me in on this one. And, it's amazing to me that the simplest little projects seem to garner as many compliments as the complicated ones when we are out and about! This pattern is definitely worth a try.

So, for today, I'm keeping it short and simple. Tomorrow... who knows? ;)

–Cassandra

All You Can Eat

I'm a sucker for an all-you-can-eat buffet.

The irony of this statement is that I have the stomach capacity of a two year old. I can ingest about 4-6 ounces of protein and about a cup of other food in one sitting. And this constitutes a BIG meal for me. One would think that I'd be Audry Hepburn-thin, the way I eat. But, alas, due to my Southern Italian genealogy and my gastro-snobbery, I'm destined to be thick. Even when I was young, and really thin, I had chunky fingers, fat calves, and an appetite - clear indicators, all, to my impending girth.

At my worst, I weighed a couple of pounds shy of 220. Today, I fit comfortably in a size 12 and uncomfortably in a size 10 and I'm okay with that. Because, ultimately, there are certain things I'll never give up - like buffets.

In the past few days, I've eaten at three different all-you-can-eat establishments. I feel like a whale right now and plan to spend the weekend recovering with yogurt smoothies, and maybe a salad. In the meantime, I'd like to wax rhapsodic about my love for the trough.

Years ago, trough eating was just that - shoveling in copious amounts of food, like a farm animal, until I was in a veritable coma. It has nothing to do with the food itself, only the quantity available. For me, this was the era of the cheap Chinese buffet.

Then I had surgery and I couldn't trough-eat anymore. It was sad but a good exercise in portion control. The unexpected side-effect of the surgery was that I became much more selective about the food I DID eat. If I can only eat a couple of cups of food, why would I waste any of that stomach-space on cheap bread or overcooked meats? Suddenly what the food tasted like became infinitely more important than how much there was.

Then, one shiny day, I discovered the "gourmet buffet" and I'd found the perfect confluence of quantity and quality.

When a decent restaurant does a buffet, I can choose many different items and still eat a small portion of food overall. I'm their best customer because I consume the least and - pound-for-pound - pay more for my meal than anyone else in the room. But their service to me is to allow me the variety I crave without having to throw out half of the meal.*

So, this week, I indulged in a Japanese buffet, an Indian buffet, and the meat-parade of a Brazilian churrascaria. Granted, I did "overeat" - walking out with a ludicrously full belly after each meal. But, my lack of willpower aside, these buffets allowed me to not feel guilty about taking one cube of potato from the potato salad bowl, or one small piece of California Roll. These minuscule portions mean that I can try everything on the buffet that appeals to me. And, I'm telling you, it was ALL good (except maybe the undercooked lamb at the Brazilian place.)

Chow down, babies.

- Alex

*Please don't lecture me about leftovers. They're just not the same.

So many ideas, so little time.

Lately I've been doing a lot of talking about embroidery in this space. Unfortunately, the only projects I have had to share are Sesame Street related and that doesn't really appeal to everyone. I actually wouldn't consider myself an expert in this art, and, as a matter of fact, would like to explore it a little more deeply.

Dreamy crewel design from a kit sold at Purl Soho.

The embroidery I have tackled has been quite rewarding for a few reasons. First, it's sort of instant gratification. I would put the speed in between knitting (slow for me) and sewing (a much quicker process). Now, keep in mind that I haven't gotten really complicated with embroidery so I'm sure there are some slow techniques out there! Second is that I really enjoy the process. Pulling a needle full of brightly colored thread through fabric really appeals to my senses. Mistakes are corrected rather easily and I can be a designer of my own pattern in a flash. (I am referencing my upcoming woodland creatures wall-hangings project) Lastly, and sad to say, importantly, it is "sitting work". For the same reason I love knitting... I love this. I can get comfy on my couch with tea and a movie and create while I relax.

Example of 18th century Finnish embroidery. I adore the all-over pattern.

My personal history with this sort of project work has only included DMC 6-strand embroidery floss. Really standard stuff. Simple chain or outline stitches coupled with french knots and satin stitch. I'm not lighting the world on fire here. But I will say, it's amazing how many projects you can do with just a thimbleful of knowledge.

But, I have gotten intrigued by some materials I have seen lately... linen threads, crewel yarns, wool threads, etc. It is fun to work with such bright candy-colors that you can't usually work with when knitting or sewing... unless you have a very small girl child to craft for in your house. Which I don't.

Pillowcase design by Sublime Stitching. Seriously awesome.

A while ago we reviewed a simple and basic embroidery book called The Embroidery Companion by Alicia Paulson. That has been a great book for referencing basic stitches. But there are also a lot of great resources on the web. I have found that the Purl Soho blog (The Purl Bee) has some really great ideas and tutorials for all sorts of types of techniques. And this site is really bare-bones as far a web design goes, but goodness it has a tutorial for any stitch you could possibly want to try.

If you're looking for some inspiration, just search "embroidery" on flickr or google images. There are a lot of people doing a lot of really creative stuff out there. I'm actually intrigued with the idea of combining quilting and embroidery lately. Just another project to add to the list! Hopefully I will have some of my own original designs to share with you soon.

–Cassandra