crochet

~ Out of Hibernation ~

May 17, 2014 by Patricia Fisher

Eek….I haven’t blogged in two months! I told myself that “I haven’t had anything to say”, which may or may not be true. Trust me I have said plenty over the last eight weeks! I’ve even written some things down…in my journal. But, I did however take a breather from the blog world, posting myself and reading others. But I’m back, at least reading what others have to say, and maybe adding my two cents here and there.

Spring has finally come to the Northeast, and I think I can speak for most of us…..we’re thrilled, relieved, excited and very thankful! I’m sure this Winter wasn’t that much different than the ones of my childhood, but frankly that’s been awhile and I guess I’ve become a wimp. I was among those saying “UNCLE” this year!

So here’s what’s happening in our little world…..

We had three hives of bees that survived the long cold winter. We ordered in five more packages, they’re in the hives and doing well, and we have four more nucs coming soon.

Spring around here reminds me of when the movie The Wizard of Oz goes from black and white to color. Such a happy, hopeful, magical (not that I really believe in magic) moment. Likewise, we too have color again….YAY! Our Magnolia tree was beautiful this year, such a welcoming sight in the front yard, along with the Forsythia as a backdrop.

Lots of new plants “springing” out of the warm ground….Sunflower seedlings (from fallen seeds last year), I need to thin these and find new homes for some…Rhubarb (so cool looking)….peas just starting….and kale, that will produce through the late fall (gotta love that!)….and those sweet little survivor Johnny Jump Ups, that pop up even in the stones between my raised beds.

Riley and I have a lot of work to do!

We’ve been busy buying and reorganizing the shoppe, lots of fun new things to see.

I’ve been playing around with these wood blocks, leftover from one of the Beekeeper’s projects.

I finished this little afghan (thinking of lining the back with fabric, we’ll see). This is the same pattern as Angelina’s baby afghan.

This is my current project. I started this on the drive back from Florida. I think I have ripped out as much as I have completed. For some reason this pattern was tweaking my brain. It really isn’t difficult. I’m on a roll now. The pattern is called Daisy Garden, from this book, Crochet Afghans by the Pound .

This is what is taking precedence in my world right now…..my daughter and granddaughter flew in from Florida for a two week visit. I’m enjoying having all five of my children and three grandchildren in the same state. God is good!

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Filed Under: crochet, Family, Fishers Beehive Shoppe, Honey Bees, My Potager

~ My Creation Week 6 ~

November 6, 2013 by Patricia Fisher

A little organization was needed this past week. I had at least six, large baskets full of yarn and crocheting supplies. I decided it was time to sort it all out and consolidate. So this is what I came up with….

I had the four vintage suitcases in the store and the two on top are Home Goods finds. So now all my supplies are in one place, easy to get to, and they make an attractive display (at least I think they do). So I’m set, as long as I stay out of the yarn shop for awhile. All the suitcases are packed full, no more room! Unless…I find another suitcase at the auction.

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So with that finished, I decided to move to the “Inspiration Room” and work on some journal pages.

Now I’m thinking the “Inspiration Room” needs a little organizing. Maybe for next week.

Filed Under: Antiques, Creating Every Day, crochet, The Inspiration Room Tagged With: art journaling, vintage

~ My Creation Weeks 4/5 ~

October 30, 2013 by pafisher

I know, I missed week 4! Well, I didn’t really miss it, I just didn’t get it posted. The last two weeks have been a blur of Fall activities. Here’s a visit to the farm where we bought our winter supply of hay for our four-legged babies. They had a great Fall display and lots of pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn and all different types of winter squash for sale.

Fall brings on that “nesting” feeling for me. I want to move back inside, crochet by the fire and make Fall foods.

Blueberry banana bread

Pumpkin bread

I bought a new loaf pan that makes 4 mini loaves of bread. It works great, but I’m still adjusting my recipes for the right amount of batter. First time not quite enough, the second time a little to much. My boys don’t seem to mind eating the mistakes.

Pasta Fagioli soup w/ “rustic” meatballs…haha!

This soup turned out so good, (I was wishing my brother hadn’t been a duck and headed to Florida already, he would have really liked this one). One of these days I’ll start putting my soup recipes to pen and paper!

Potato Leek soup

Here is a similar Potato Leek Soup recipe to what I made (I made a really large pot so I don’t have exact amounts for mine).

The Beekeeper has been busy taking the honey boxes off the beehives and getting the bees ready for winter. We have about half of the honey extracted, looks like a good honey year for us.

And then there was the grape harvest….just when I thought I was done making jams and jelly! I forgot about the grapes.

I did get a new scarf crocheted and a little doodling in between the fall chores.

Time to get started on the next week!

P.S. Here are the bread recipes:

Blueberry Banana Bread

1 cup blueberries

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup margarine (I use butter)

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup mashed banana

Toss the washed and drained blueberries with 2 tablespoons of the flour. Sift the flour, baking powder, soda and salt together. Set aside. Cream the butter and gradually beat in the sugar until fluffy. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the mashed banana, stir in the blueberries. Bake in a greased loaf pan in a 350 oven for 50 to 60 minutes (this is different of course if you are using a mini loaf pan like I did). Makes 1 loaf

This recipe is from a great cookbook I use a lot, The Country Inn and Bed & Breakfast Cookbook.

Ruthie’s Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 eggs

1 cup oil

Mix well.

Add:

1 cup pumpkin

2/3 cup water

Blend in:

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

Bake in 3 greased and floured coffee cans (you need the kind without a lip), filled 1/2 full, at 350 for 1 hour. This can also be done in a loaf pan.

This was my Mom’s recipe. I’m not sure where it originated from, but pumpkin bread in a coffee can reminds me of my childhood…happy memory!

Filed Under: Creating Every Day, crochet, Honey Bees, In the kitchen, The Catskills Tagged With: blueberry banana bread, fall, Honey, pumpkin bread, soup

~ Seeing Pink, again! ~

March 25, 2013 by pafisher

While awaiting the arrival of my second granddaughter, I came across “ this” pattern for a baby afghan on another blog. So I decided to give it a go…..here are pictures of the process ( sorry for the dark photos on some, makes you really appreciate the color on the good ones when you get to them, haha ), and here is the same afghan in purple.