Fair Isle Knitting

Fair Isle is one of the Shetland Islands in northern Scotland. Although traditionally tied to the sea, the Shetland Islands are known for more than ponies and sheep. They are a popular destination for people looking to explore the multifaceted heritage and culture of these subarctic islands.

Fair Isle is known for its birdlife, amazing scenery and, of course, its traditional crafts. Fair Isle knitting is known around the world. You could wait up to three years to get a hand knit Fair Isle sweater made by one of the islanders and you could pay up to $490 USD for it.

Fair Isle knitting is a form of stranded knitting. Traditional patterns are created with multiple colors, but only two colors are used in each row. The unused color is stranded across the back of the work. These strands or floats add extra bulk to the knitting making it warm and cozy. Traditional Fair Isle knits typically feature rows of intricate geometric patterns in up to five colors.

I have always been intrigued with Fair Isle knitting. The patterns are so engaging. I was pretty sure, though, that I couldn't knit with a different color in each hand. After some online research I discovered that there are lots of different ways to carry two different colored yarns at the same time. After some practice, I was able to alternate colors every other stitch quite handily and I even made a couple of pairs of mittens. When my LYS (Local Yarn Shop) offered a Fair Isle sweater knit along class, I decided that I was ready.

Ready or not...

After some problems with gauge, I was finally ready to cast on. The sweater that I am knitting is called Hedgerow. It is a modern Fair Isle pattern by Ann Kingstone that is knit in seven colors. I chose a light worsted weight superwash wool for my sweater.

The Hedgrow pattern is 18 stitches and doesn't take long to memorize. Each new row is a new pattern, though, so it's a great brain workout. Hedgerow has 120 rows of pattern!

If you've ever thought about giving Fair Isle kniting a try, go for it. Starting with a small project, like a hat, will give you some confidence. The best advice that I can give is to keep your two balls of yarn on either side of you and always knit one from the bottom and one from the top. Following this routine ensures that your yarn doesn't get twisted together.

You can keep up with My Fair Isle Knitting Adventure by visiting my Cupola Corner Facebook page.


🔍To return to the main page, please click on the banner at the top of this page or click on this link: Cupola Corner Blog

“Big Yellow Taxi”

“Big Yellow Taxi” was written and originally performed by Joni Mitchell. More recently, Counting Crows included this classic and on their Hard Candy album, and it was certified Gold for the first time. While it has long been considered a call to promote environmental concerns, there are other messages, as well.

This is my third Six for Six blog post. Six songs. Six months.

Making plans for the future was the original intent of this priority. Taking care of details. Tidying up loose ends. Taking care of business, so to speak.

How’s that working out for you? Procrastination is such an easy and often comfortable road trip.

The bottom line is that if I don’t plan for my own future, someone else will make those decisions for me. I have a will. I have financial and health/personal powers of attorney. I have talked with the people to whom I have trusted the making of important decisions in my future should I be unable. But what other jobs could befall them because I have not planned well?

“Big Yellow Taxi” talks about the fact that we often don’t appreciate our environment until it’s too late. Another species becomes extinct. Another town has no clean drinking water. We shouldn’t take the earth for granted. We should be planning for it’s future and it’s survival.

We should also not take the people in our lives for granted, and we should plan for our future in a way that makes it easier for us and for them.

I think that it is important to live in the moment and to be conscious of the here and now, but it can’t be an excuse. It’s important to not be short-sighted.

Planning is important...for the environment and for ourselves.

“Don’t it always seem to go,
That you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.”


🔍To return to the main page, please click on the banner at the top of this page or click on this link: Cupola Corner Blog

Meet Broccoli...The Bone Builder!

Broccoli is a plant that is part of the cruciferous family, like cabbage and Brussels sprouts. Broccoli has large flowering heads, usually green, that look like little trees. In fact, my nieces used to call them trees when they were young.

This winter, I am trying to increase my intake of calcium. Actually, it's become a life long goal. I have osteoporosis and after three & a half years, I've had to start taking medication. I'm not happy about that, but numbers don't lie and I don't want to become an old lady with a hump on my back who breaks bones just by bending over. #osteoporosisisnotjustforoldladies

Osteoporosis is a disease that slowly and quietly weakens bones. It is caused by low bone mass and the weakening of bone, which can lead to increased risk of fracture. Fragility fractures represent 80% of all fractures in menopausal women over the age of 50. Fractures from osteoporosis are more common than heart attack, stroke and breast cancer combined.

Dairy products are the best way to get lots of calcium into you, but you can't live on milk, yogurt and ice cream. At least, I don't think you can...

Broccoli to the rescue! One cup of broccoli has 5% - 6% of the daily recommended amount of calcium. It also has lots of vitamin K (116% DV), great for bone building, vitamin C (135% DV), iron (5% DV) & it contains antioxidents.

This winter, I am going to research, experiment with and create some recipes that use broccoli. I hope that you have the opportunity to try some of my recipes. You can keep up with the day to day experimentation on my Facebook page. Photos and recipes will be available in the Broccoli: Bone Builder Recipes photo album on Facebook. I will post recipes here on my blog as they accumulate.

Be bold. Be a bone builder. Eat broccoli.

Learn more about osteoporosis here:
National Osteoporosi Foundation
Osteoporosis Canada

🔍To return to the main page, please click on the banner at the top of this page or click on this link: Cupola Corner Blog

“Memories”

“Memories, pressed between the pages of my mind...,” Elvis Presley.

This is my second Six for Six blog post. Six songs. Six months.  

Gather and make memories. The intent of this priority was to spend some time getting caught up on my scrapbooking. I’ve always considered the making of memories more important than the preservation of them, but I have to admit that I do love looking back through old photo albums and scrapbooks.

My daughter and I started scrapbooking long before it was popular, but it was my sister that got us both into it in a really big way. She managed an independent scrapbooking store and got us into teaching classes and working part time. It was a really fun job that provided the opportunity to meet some really great people. There were lots of good memories created and preserved in that little store. 

Now that the store has closed, I’m not as inclined to sit down and work on my scrapbooking. I have several projects almost finished and several not even started. I want those memories preserved for me and for my daughter. My goal is to finish two trip albums this winter. 

At the same time, I want to make memories. 

Making memories can happen in lots of ways in lots of places. Making memories is holding on to special people and special times in your heart and in your head.

Making memories is not just about trips and events. It’s about enjoying and appreciating the moment and the people who share that moment with you.

It’s about...
“Laughing eyes and simple ways,
Quiet nights and gentle days.”

Make memories.
“Memories, memories, sweet memories.”


🔍To return to the main page, please click on the banner at the top of this page or click on this link: Cupola Corner Blog

Maybe It’s Not About You

We all have egocentric tendencies. As adults, most of us understand that we are not the centre of the universe. That does not, however, stop us from sometimes behaving as if we are.

Have you ever lost touch with a friend? It happens. People grow apart. People move. People change. Sometimes moving on is a good thing.

But one day you realize that you haven’t seen or talked to a friend with whom you once had regular contact. You wonder what’s going on. Is s/he upset with you? Has s/he moved on and left you behind? Has s/he found new friends or interests? Is s/he just too busy for you anymore?

Well, maybe it’s not about you.

Maybe s/he can’t get out of bed in the morning because s/he couldn’t sleep last night.

Maybe s/he can’t get out of the house because the world just seems too big.

Maybe s/he can't get out of bed because s/he can't face another day of uncertainty.

Maybe s/he can only focus on what is right in front of her/him and making plans is just too overwhelming.

Maybe s/he thinks that you will judge her/him.

Maybe s/he is feeling angry and frustrated and scared because s/he can’t do the things s/he once did with ease.

Maybe s/he has lost interest in the things that s/he once enjoyed.

Maybe s/he's feeling restless and irritable and doesn't consider her/himself good company.

Maybe s/he is feeling worthless and not of value to you anymore.

Maybe s/he doesn't feel well.

Maybe s/he’s experiencing depression.

Maybe, it's not about you.

If you have a friend whom you think may be experiencing depression, reach out. Be gentle. Don't expect her/him to respond to a big gesture. Try something that doesn't necessarily require a response, like a card. And don't give up. Remember...it's not about you.

Check out the Depression Hurts website for information about depression and how you can help a friend (see "Information for Family & Friends" tab).
.

🔍To return to the main page, please click on the banner at the top of this page or click on this link: Cupola Corner Blog

The Ugly (?) Christmas Sweater

You know the sweater that I'm talking about. You may even have one in your closet. You may not even think it's ugly. You aren't the only one!

I will concede to the fact that there are a lot of Ugly Christmas Sweaters around, but I never owned one. Never owned an ugly one, that is.

I have owned and worn Christmas Sweaters since before they were referred to as ugly and long before there was an Ugly Christmas Sweater Day.

Christmas Sweaters are fun. They are happy sweaters. They brighten the day of those who wear them. They bring a smile to everyone else.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Day was first celebrated in 2011 and it has become a fund raiser for children's charities. Ugly Christmas Sweater Day falls on the third Friday of December each year and is celebrated internationally. Are you ready to join the celebration?

Reach into your closet and pull out that Christmas Sweater. You know it's in there somewhere.

Be bold. Be brave. Be the person who wears a Christmas Sweater any day in December.

Let's take the "ugly" out of Christmas Sweaters and truly appreciate them for the love and joy they bring to you, and to you, your wassail, too, and may God bless you and send you a Happy New Year!


🔍To return to the main page, please click on the banner at the top of this page or click on this link: Cupola Corner Blog


Check out my wassail recipe here: Wassail

“You’ve Got a Friend”

Although the song was written by Carol King, James Taylor’s rendition is my favourite version. “Winter, spring, summer or fall, All you have to do is call.” I hope that I am that kind of friend.

This is my first Six for Six blog post. Six songs. Six months.

When I first started exploring ideas for what I refer to as my “Blogging Season”, I jotted down a list of thoughts that were more like personal priorities for the next six months as opposed to topics. One thing led to another, as often happens with brainstorming, and before long I had come up with six songs that reflected my six priorities.

At the top of my list was “Focus on Family and Friends.” It’s easy to get caught up in the daily whirlwind of existence. Reorienting towards the people in your life is always a good call.

Research, and experience, tell us that having friends is good for you both socially, emotionally and psychologically. Dunbar’s research at the University of Oxford suggests that we need between three to five good friends. This can include spouses and family. These friends are real people with whom you laugh and cry. They are people with whom you share a meal or a hug. They are a tangible part of your life.

According to data collected in the U.S. General Social Survey, the number of people who report having no close friends has increased dramatically over the past few decades. It seems that as we have become more “connected”, we are losing our connection with people. The people who can enrich our lives. The people who can make us better people. The people we can call friends.

If we make family and friends a high priority in our lives, we are better for it. We will be healthier and happier. We are reminded, however, by Ralph Waldo Emerson that “the only way to have a friend is to be one.” It’s not just about us. It’s not just about me. It’s about my three to five people.

“Close your eyes and think of me

And soon I will be there...

You just call out my name

And you know wherever I am

...I’ll be there.

You’ve got a friend.”


🔍To return to the main page, please click on the banner at the top of this page or click on this link: Cupola Corner Blog

Lemon Tree: Believe. Hope. Drink Lemonade.

Winter has not yet officially begun. As I look out the window at the snow, however, I am experiencing garden withdrawal. After considering a variety of indoor gardening projects that require more space than I have available, I have settled on a project. I am going to plant lemon seeds and grow a lemon tree.

They say that gardening is a way of showing that you believe in tomorrow. Well, from what I’ve been reading about lemon trees, it would appear that I will need a lot of tomorrows before I can make lemonade.

Apparently, lemon seeds germinate within a few weeks. That will mean sprouts before Christmas. That’s exciting! Lemons, however, could be several years down the road. I believe in tomorrow.

There are lots of things that you can grow indoors, but right now one lemon and one small pot of soil seem to be just the thing to ward off garden withdrawal. It really does seem like a hopeful project and hope is good.

Believe. Hope. Drink lemonade.

Sounds perfect. Why not give it a try?



🔍To return to the main page, please click on the banner at the top of this page or click on this link: Cupola Corner Blog

Six for Six

Welcome to November...the beginning of another blog season for Cupola Corner. I hope that you will join me each week over the next six months as we explore a variety of Hearth, Home & Handmade topics.

This year, one of the ongoing themes here on the Cupola Corner blog will be Six for Six...six songs for six months. Each song represents a focus that will be examined in each of the upcoming months. The songs were chosen to be a springboard for both research and personal reflection, as opposed to songs that would tell the story. I think that you may be surprised where they will take us.



Here are my Six for Six:

1. “You’ve Got a Friend” - Carol King

2. “Memories” - Elvis Presley 

3. “Big Yellow Taxi” - Joni Mitchell

4. “Let it Be” - Paul McCartney

5. “In My Daughter’s Eyes” - James T. Slater

6. “I Hope You Dance” - Tia Sillers & Mark Sanders



🔍To return to the main page, please click on the banner at the top of this page or click on this link: Cupola Corner Blog

Cran-tastic!

In Canada, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend. The harvest is well underway in "the true north strong & free" and we are thankful for all of the bounty that this country provides.

Part of the celebrations will be enjoying the humble cranberry in a variety of recipes, from cranberry punch to cranberry sauce to cranberry bread.

When I was young, I did not like cranberries. I think it was the tart flavor that didn't suit my palate. I have since become a huge fan. These little red berries truly are cran-tastic.

Cranberries are grown across Canada. In the Maritimes, wild cranberries are known as marsh apples. Cranberries are grown commercially in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. Canada is the second largest producer of cranberries worldwide.

Cranberries are an interesting little berry. You will find them growing in bogs. A cranberry bog is an area with soft soil, something like a marsh. Cranberries grow on vines. Contrary to what you may have heard, cranberries do not grow under water.

At harvest time, some growers flood the cranberry bogs with up to 18" of water. The berries float to the top of the water and are easier to see and to harvest. Cranberries collected by wet harvest are used to create the cranberry products that you can buy in grocery stores. The cranberries that you buy fresh in packages for your own recipes have been dry harvested by a large machine with metal combs that remove the berries from the vines.

Cranberries not only taste great, but they are good for you. Cranberries contain helpful phytochemicals and have also been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties.

Cranberries are harvested in the fall, but you can enjoy them year round from your freezer. Bags of fresh cranberries freeze well and do not need to be thawed before you use them in your favorite recipes. I make cranberry scones every year for breakfast on Christmas morning. They are delicious.

I recently joined the Cranberry Club at Ocean Spray (scroll to the bottom of their home page) and I am looking forward to trying out lots of the recipes. The first one that I tried was Cranberry Fudge. It is delicious! I am thinking that we may just have a new Thanksgiving tradition in our family. Something new for which to be thankful.

If you've only every made cranberry sauce, why not kick it up a notch this Thanksgiving and try out a new cranberry recipe? Your taste buds will thank you.

I hope that you enjoy a cran-tastic Thanksgiving and that you have the opportunity to share this special time of year with those who are special to you. Happy Thanksgiving!

Click here to view Agriculture Canada's "Canadian Cranberries: A Tart Treasure".

🔍To return to the main page, please click on the banner at the top of this page or click on this link: Cupola Corner Blog