Hebras y Madejas

New Year.

2012-01-31T10:54:00.000-08:00

The passage of Time.

The thought of time always takes front stage when a new year begins. Our mind remembers what was done or not during the past year, and enjoys dreaming and making plans for the new one. Facing such "blank page" can be both exciting, but also challenging.

There is always something else: knowing that time flies and sometimes it goes faster than expected, especially when you have been around for a while!

I never make New Year resolutions, but if I was asked to I would simply say "be happy and try to make my loved ones happy too". What this entails is having both freedom, care and responsibility into doing what is necessary to achieve it.

"Seize the day", fueled by my natural inclination into starting new projects all the time, may that be sewing, weaving, knitting, painting, etc. In the end it all comes to "I still wish I had more time to do all I want!"

So, I am setting free this plea out to the universe:

Grant me more time to love, time to learn, time to breathe the air and hear birds singing, time to laugh, time to sing, time for silence, and time to pray.

Wish you all a fantastic 2012!

.......and what a great way to start the New Year? New books to fuel my creative thirst....bliss!

End of November.

2011-11-21T17:30:00.000-08:00

It is almost the end of November and want to open this post by sharing a significant picture of the place where my great grandparents and grandparents lay to rest. The Day of The Dead is quite special in Mexico and is full of respect and reverance to those departed. I was able to make the trip out of my city to visit this place and was happy to see it in full bloom by the many flowers that adorned the place, especially the "Cempazuchitl" flowers that were "Flowers of The Dead" for the Aztecs. Such flower is known as Marigold in other countries.

Still talking about flowers here are three more pictures of the newest roses blooming in my garden. The Elizabeth Rose:

An Orange Rose:

And finally my "Hechicera" (Sorcerer) Rose:

To end this post, here is a picture of my latest project finished. My "Praline Tunic" that took me forever to finish at its' stitch -a St st all the way- would become pretty overwhelming after a while. I am happy with the results and the fact that I did finish it after all!

Thanks for visiting!

More coming soon!

Autumn is around the Corner!

2011-09-17T17:26:00.000-07:00

Hello again readers! I thought of starting this post by showing you the picture of yet another finished knitting project. The Off-the-Shoulder Pullover by Vladimir Teriokhin.

I started knitting it in January 2008 and it certainly took me a while to finish it. I have found that this happens to me frequently, I love casting on and starting new projects, then when they bore me I start another one.....in the end I end up with so many projects to knit that then I take time to finish them. I just think that if by any reason one particular project starts being boring then there is no reason to keep on knitting it. Knitting should always be something you look forward to doing, not a chore. So yes, I have more than 3.....I should say more than 8 projects on my needles right now. I did however stopped casting on and decided to shuffle my choice according to my mood around the already started projects. Anyway, there is no better feeling than finishing something, isn't it?

On other things, I have just finished reading one of the best narrated books about the time of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII. I praise the author for creating a book that traps the reader into a most fascinating journey through history: "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory.
In my view, the novel goes beyond a historical review and transforms itself into a most thrilling story. Very soon after I started going through its pages I realized something that has made this novel one of my absolute favourites: its capacity to relate to present times for women in general.

I think that the magic of Gregory was to challenge the reader into placing one's beliefs as women in relationships with men even in our own times. I am a woman of my time and getting to know the perspective and ever so difficult situations three main characters were always put through the story made me rethink about them and many times even see them as women of my time too. They were women of endless courage but moreover, women of high intelligence. I can only admire them now whatever their destiny was sealed by selfish men, particularly one, either that be seclusion, oblivion or death. This being Catherine of Aragon, Mary Boleyn and Anne Boleyn. Their reasons for acting in one way or another were always around the desires of men, and this relieves them from any guilt that fell upon them.

So keeping up with this post I want to share a recipe with you all. I caught it after a sleepless night while watching RAI International TV (Italian TV) and could not wait to do it. It is "Polpette di Melanzane"......"Eggplant Dumplings". If you are a fan of eggplant like I am then you will like it. An important note: there is some cooking experience required to do this recipe. The quantities for the ingredients varies according to personal taste, and what it may be required to make the perfect dumpling.

Ingredients: 2 eggplants, 2 garlic heads, parsley, oregano, salt & pepper, 2 cups of breadcrumbs (and some more), 2 eggs, mozarella cheese, 1 cup grated parmesan cheese.

1.- First you start by cooking the eggplant. After washing and peeling their skin off, you cut the eggplants in little dices. Then you place them in a saucepan with enough water to cover them and kosher salt. You bring everything to the boil, lower the flame and place a lid on top. You need to regularly stir the eggplant so it does not stick or burn. When you see it has already cooked, then take the lid off and wait for the rest of the water to evaporate. Then proceed to cool the eggplant in a cold dish.

2.- In a well sized bowl, place the cooked eggplant and mix it up with minced garlic, minced parsley, oregano, salt & pepper, the 2 cups of breadcrumbs, 2 eggs and the cup of grated parmesan cheese. Leave the mozarella on the side.

3.- Mixing everything with your hands it is important to have extra breadcrumbs ready on the side. This is because all the mixed ingredients need to stop sticking in your hands, so as needed, you add up more breadcrumbs. The mixture will be ready when it no longer sticks on the bowl or on your hands.

4.- Dice the mozarella cheese in little pieces and put them on a plate. Then using cooking oil (try to avoid olive oil as it burns very fast) use a stir frying pan.

5.- The next part is to start making the dumplings with your hands. Try to cover the palms of your hands with more breadcrumbs to achieve the balls/ dumplings with perfect results. Once the dumpling is made place no more than two dices of mozarella inside and cover the cheese perfectly. The key is that the cheese remains inside the dumpling and does not stick out as this will be a problem once you start stir frying them, because the cheese will melt out.

6.- Once the oil in your saucepan is ready, proceed to stir fry them until they are very hot and golden brown on the outside. Place the dumplings over paper towels to absorb excess oil.

Once they are cold you can keep them in your fridge. To reheat them I recommend using an oven dish with some cooking oil and heating them inside the oven at about 200 oC / 400 oF.

Enjoy!

Finally, another picture of my roses. This time is the turn of my Blue Moon Rose. Lovely, isn't it?

Thanks for stopping by.

Ending August 2011.

2011-08-30T16:51:00.000-07:00

Hello again, I start this post by showing you a picture of my new cotton plant. Yes! the Coyuchi plant that likes the weather in Mexico City. I was thrilled to see the new cotton flowers growing each day. Another reason to get a spinning wheel now! :-)

So, I promised my next posting would be to show off my "pumpkin" pullover finally finished. Yes! and I am thrilled with it. Although the project literally "eats" yarn, I enjoyed the results. I do, however suggest using yarns with a bit of a mix either of synthetic or artificial fibers as this project has a tendency to becoming heavy at the bottom due to its weight. Now I just need to wait for the winter to come!
It feels so good to finally close a chapter with this sweater; and closing it with a positive feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction on a personal level.......yes, going beyond the sweater now. I am writing a new chapter in my life now and I am quite happy.

My next comment is about Lebanese food. Have you guys tried it? It has been among my favourite ones since a long time and I was fortunate to find a Lebanese cuisine recipe book here in Mexico City. It was written by the grandmother of the owner of a Lebanese restaurant close to my home, the "Emir". The recipe book is very good and I already enjoyed a recipe from it: "La Cocina de Ventura".

And finally but not least, I show you now my Empress Rose, isn't it beautiful?

Hope to be finishing another two more projects for my next posting here.

Happy Knitting and thanks for stopping by!

In Between Rows.

2011-07-09T12:21:00.000-07:00

So I promised that my next post would be to show my finished "Pumpkin" Sweater but I thought that as I am far of less than 20 rows to finishing it, in the meantime I could upload a post that I think would be of interest to weavers out there.

I have been weaving for almost 11 years and I know that no matter how much I may practice I will never finish learning, the picture below is of me practicing on a "Dorothy" loom by Leclerc. It was taken at the National Tapestry Workshop in Mexico City, April 1999 founded by my teacher and mentor, Mrs. Bertha Preciado and her husband Pedro Preux.

So after more than ten years infront of a loom I am still surprised by new techniques I can use at weaving. One of my many sources has always been Interweave with its fabulous magazine "Handwoven". And just this month I took the chance to acquire a highly advertised DVD made by its editor and expert teacher, Mrs. Madeleine Van der Hoogt. "Warping your Loom".

Warping: always such a challenging task that I believe is the main source of producing magic at the loom. This is why it is so important, and I am always open to learning new and easier ways to doing it, not only for me but also to pass along to my students.

My opinion on the DVD: Mrs. Van der Hoogt is always an excellent teacher but if you happen to work on a warping mill rather than a warping board, and more than this, you have a 68" wide, 12 shaft floor loom, with a 53" depth and a net weight of around 221 lbs. like I do, then this DVD is not for you. Everything on the DVD and her tecnique is based at a much smaller and simpler warping board and loom. Yes, probably for the majority of weavers this DVD works fine, but I believe that advertising it for all weavers is not accurate.

Although I learned from some of her experience, I realized that the method I learned from my mentor together with what I added up from my experience suits my work better, as I think happens to anybody who tries to master a particular applied art.

More on the current weaving project I am working on later!

To freshen up things a bit here, don't you love roses? I do. This is a picture of my Burgundy Rose.

Thanks for stopping by!

June 2011

2011-06-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

Hello again! It is almost the end of June and this month has been a very meaningful one. Time is a healer and during this period I have learned many more things about me. Life is always full of surprises and June has been no exception. I definitely look forward to discovering what comes ahead in the next months.

The above I think is one of my favourite pictures of the month. It was taken late in the afternoon when rain was starting to fall. Out of coincidence I looked out the window from my studio and saw a couple of birds staying very close to each other underneath the protection of a planter at the front terrace. I immediately thought "if that is not an image of love I do not know what it is". I immediately took my camera!

And still speaking about love, you will all agree with me that the way it can be expressed is infinite. I was very fortunate last May to be in Assisi, Italy and finally realize a life long dream of mine. Every corner of it was so beautiful and walking through its little medieval streets was a continuous inspiration. Of the many expressions of love that I encountered two impressed me in a more personal way. I am talking about the few but outstanding examples of spinning and needlework done by a woman who lived only for love: Saint Clare of Assisi.
On the museum located underneath the Basilica di Santa Chiara you can see an example of her needlework and handsewing skills in a night gown done by her. Of course, she never holded anything so lavish.

And perhaps the example that stunned me more was the little spinned ball of cotton yarn exposed there. It is said that throughout her life she continuously spinned and would send cotton yarn to different convents, abbeys and monasteries to be used for knitting.

Complete surrenderness to the service of others. That was Saint Clare's way of loving life.

And now coming back to present times, as promised, here are some pictures of the knitting projects I am working on. The first one is a crochet shawl to be gifted to a very good friend of mine in Italy. It is done in Broomstick Lace Pattern and I am enjoying it very much.

The following picture belongs to my Pumpkin knitted pullover/ dress. As you can see I am almost done, still working on the pattern but very soon will be just working K1 P1 for the long neck. The coming picture will be of it totally finished!

Thanks for reading and keep on expressing yourselves through your crafts!

Unraveling.

2011-05-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

Hello Dear Readers, it's been a while....

It is an easy relaxing saturday afternoon and finally feeling at ease I can say that I have been "unraveled". Many times, hopefully the least of them, Life puts us under situations that pretty much feel like being unraveled and there is no stopping of it. The worse part is that it is out of your control.
What I have been through for the past 10 months is comparable to one project I started knitting last October that I named "Pumpkin". As I started knitting it, it soon became my favourite project. I could only dream of the many wonderful experiences and joy I would get while wearing it, when it would be finally finished. At first, I kept a steady pace and soon was able see it start becoming something beautiful (at least in my eyes). Then for reasons out of my control, I would have to put it away for some time -there were more important things to attend, it seems- and although I kept coming back to it, I knew I was losing that steady pace. Then the day came when I had to put it away because there was simply no time (or interest) to keep on knitting it, the many hopes and dreams of exciting experiences while wearing it finished vanished infront of my eyes. This way it was kept for months inside a box, together with my knitting needles.

The good news is that such sweater did not go through the unraveling, but I, the knitter did metaphorically speaking. After being once a "favourite project", very soon I became neglected and then unraveled by deceit and heartbreak.

Time to start taking up my knitting needles again and rediscover the exciting (for me) knitting project that my life is.

I will post again when my "Pumpkin" sweater is finished. Turns out this particular project will be after all a memorable one, because by finishing it I will reinvent it and with it, I will reinvent myself.

I am at Home again.

Thanks for reading.

I Love Italy

2010-11-10T18:43:00.001-08:00

I had the most amazing time in Italy last September and eventhough my time over there flew incredibly fast, what I experienced was so wonderful. This time I mainly enjoyed the Veneto Province and was able to visit again one of my favourite cities ever: Venece.......and I had such a fun time there!
This is me enjoying a Spritz Apperol at St. Mark's Square. The first picture above this one is of one of the most beautiful churches I have ever visited: The Church of Saint Anthony of Padova where you can kneel infront of His remains if you are devoted to Him. I am and it was such an honor. The church has this Medieval-Venetian style that blows your mind! If you happen to be at Padova someday, don't hesitate on visiting this church and the whole monastery. It is gorgeous!
This is one of the canals of romantci Vicenza.......oh, what a City and what a promise! It is not as big and wide as Padova, but it still has the feeling of a city, which I like very much. Below is a picture of the City taken from Monte Berico, where the church of the Patroness Virgin of Veneto, la Madonna di Monte Berico, is. Another gorgeous church!

So, the end of my summer was mainly the promise of another life change for me. I am so very, very excited!!

Soon more postings!

Ciao!

August.

2010-08-29T03:13:00.000-07:00

What a month! Time flew and spent most of it setting myself up for a long trip. Kind of a leap of faith thing that I am so glad I did.
Among the many things I did was being able to finish three projects: two knitting ones and a crochet one. Above is a picture of one of them taken from Interweave's Fall 2009 issue: the "Berry and Bramble Cardigan" knitted for my mom.

The second project was finishing my "Wild Aster" project taken by the "Cottage Lace Cardigan" from Interweave's Weekend 2009 issue. I started it while living in Toronto and finished it in Mexico. I named it Wild Aster because during last year's fall season I got to know that flower in Canada. I liked knitting this project and I only took time to finish it solely because I was too busy knitting other things. The Noro yarn gives it such a lovely feel and texture. I love it.
The third project is a crochet one, Julia Vaconsin's "Big Bow Cardigan" that I enjoyed working on although the instructions given at Interweave's Crochet issue Winter 2008 were not entirely correct and basically I had to crochet it with a measuring tape next to me. I liked the results and was happy to see that it fitted well on me because I was worried it wouldn't!
I like its design. Sort of a combo between cute and fashionable.

So after a very tiring and long trip back and forth from Italy to Mexico I am looking forward to finishing more delayed projects........and starting new ones!
I hope to be back in Italy someday. Don't know where destiny will be taking me next.

Thanks for reading!

A Great Month!

2010-07-29T18:47:00.000-07:00

July was for me one of the best months of the year (and of so many other years). First, finally my dream of a new loom came true and I got one from my favourite brand and of my favourite size: a Colonial V2 floor loom from Leclerc. My congratulations to the company in Quebec, they provide the best of services! Here is Dolce posing infront of it. Oh, life is sweet!

Here is a picture of my mother and I celebrating our "Saint Day" (July 22nd) at a favourite italian place. My Mother looks wonderful, she is so special!

Here is a picture of my 12th project.........yes, I am bad. I have been trying to finish previous projects and have just started two more instead......anyway, two of the twelve are almost done, so I'll post about them very soon! :D

This other project is for my Mother and I am enjoying it a lot......still, if anyone is knitting it (featured on Interweave's Knits Fall 2009 issue) take note about a mistake I found on the "Berry-in-a-Box" pattern: Row 6 should read "dec5" instead of "dec4"

Happy Knitting You all and Thanks for stopping by!

Canadian Experience.

2010-03-08T10:35:00.001-08:00

So here I am ready to share with you part of an experience I had during the last semester of 2009 in Canada, specifically in Toronto. It is the recall of a few months only and I would not be so silly as to narrow down a canadian experience to just the one I had in Toronto, which is only a city in such a great nation. About the reasons why I am writing about it until today it is because I am now faced with new decisions that require me to chose for now between Canada and Mexico, but also because I owe it to my friends who supported me.

To make a brief introduction of the reasons that prompted me to seek Canadian Residency I can just say that I wanted to feel safer, but more than this to have a greater chance to go further in my career, that is as a fashion and textile designer. The journey that started in january 2005 and ended in september 2008 between the canadian visa authorities, my lawyer inToronto, the mexican authorities and I was a very suffered one that I only endured because the prize was "to high". You cannot imagine the great excitement I felt when I picked up my Candian Permanent Resident Visa at the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City: a lifetime dream had come true.

Then, the preparations for the move, saying goodbye to family and friends, to colleagues, to my job, my home, my car..........it was all worth it, a new life awaited me and it was what I had prepared for all my life.
I won't say that I had placed all my apples in a basket called "Canada", because experience has taught me not to bet all in just one number, time would only tell, the only thing that surprised me is that such time came to fast and it happened in late November of 2009, months after I landed in Canada.

The first experiences were amazing, for me all of the new experiences I was going through seemed exciting, and they were so in every sense of the word. My welcome to Canada was just great, all doors would open, my visa was the key. Then things started to change, where it hurt the most: in the two things that prompted me to leave my country: safety and higher professional opportunities.
Toronto is not the safe city you think it is. I lived in Yorkville, one of the most expensive areas in the city, in a building with 24 hour concierge service where Maseratti's and Porsches were parked in the garage. I could see the Four Season's Hotel from my window and when the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) was on film stars hanged around the area with its high-end boutiques, bars and restaurants. But in the evening it was unpleasant to walk around the corner, as me and my dog saw everything from drug dealing to prostitution, from many homeless people to filthy streets. We lived in a building where drug dealing and call girls from Eastern Europe were our next door neighbors. Don't get me wrong, I live in a major city, Mexico City, and these things don't scare me, but when you are living in an expensive area surrounded by the above, well it is not pleasant, also because back home my neighborhood was a lot safer and cleaner.
So feeling safe was no longer part of the deal I made, I was willing to accept such new reality as long as the second, and most important reason of the two: job opportunities, would still be there. This is where I received the hardest slap called "Canadian Experience", meaning if you have never worked for a canadian employer in your field in Canada then you don't have it and so, you will never have access to the kind of job opportunities you are used to in your home country unless you get your first canadian experience at a job where the requirements (and wages) are low and far below your expectations: Starbuck's, Subway..........this was not part of the bargain, I immigrated as a professional skilled worker, and the mountain of documents to give proof to the Canadian Visa authorities of my abilities (proof of education, letters from my employers, etc, etc) I did not provide to end up serving sandwiches and coffee. Underneath such "canadian experience" lies a truth: racism. An ugly word that so many immigrants in Canada live with.
The above is the reality most people who immigrate don't talk about and you feel betrayed, and you start feeling worthless, frustrated and depressed. The initial excitement washed out just like the chilling autumn wind that hit my face like nails in every corner. Then you start missing everything you left, from the most dear to you to the most insignificant. "Forget Mexico" some canadian friends would say, but how could I when life where I came from was so good. I then had to make a balance and take important decisions before it was to late, that is, before I would have to forget about who I was, a textile designer with 16 years of experience. I became a keen observer of everything I would see in Toronto, I was no longer surprised to see that the ones wearing the nicest clothes were almost entirely caucasian, or that whenever spanish was spoken it was because I passed by a cleaning guy who was wiping windows in a building. It would feel awkard when they would greet me in english, as I do not represent the mexican or latino ideology most non-mexicans have, seems like I am "to tall, to white, or to educated" for a mexican. I am Mexico too!
One saturday afternoon a friend from Australia who was also having a hard time finding a decent job made me a question; we were planning on going to yet another job fair. "Where is your move right now?" she asked, "It has not left Mexico yet" I replied. My move included all of my furniture and the things I could not part with. She asked "Can you stop it?", and suddenly I understood what she was talking about. She had left Sidney, quit her job, sold her house, her car and given up on everything for Toronto, Canada. She lived close by to my appartment, and because her flat was not big enough, she was paying for storage. After almost a year, she still could not find a job that would value her many years of experience. Many times we would end up talking with nostalgia about the many things we missed from our hometowns, it was painful. The next sunday I took a decision and it was the best I ever took: I needed to close that first chapter with Canada and go back to Mexico. I did so sometime after, with five overweighted bags, my dog, and seven kilos less of flesh. To see the coloured roofs of houses from the plane illuminated by the afternoon sun, the city that is MY city, in a country where my ancestors from Europe set in roots and taught me to love and feel proud of, brought tears to my eyes. I now love my country even more, with all of it, its good and bad side, because it is mine. So now I am setting in roots again in Mexico and watering those that I did not dare to cut. I am excited about life again and grateful for the whole experience of being again at home, in my house, in my city, in my country.

I will go back to Canada, but do not know when exactly and it will be for short periods only with a different plan. Only time will tell, as it always does, perhaps in the end Canada will be my country of destination, but right now its not time. To anyone thinking of immigrating to Canada feeling that it is the new frontier, just do not fret into burning all of the bridges with your homeland, especially if you have an okay life, because in these troubled times, of so many uncertainties an okay life that you live everyday is better than a mirage.

A few days after I arrived back home, I went to look for a magazine at my local newstand. The owner saw me and with a smile asked me "Where were you?, I missed you", I looked at him, someone with whom for years I hardly exchanged anything more than five words. "I lost my way for a little while but I am back", I replied. He said "Good, here is your favourite magazine, I remember".

How wonderful is the feeling of belonging to a place.

Thanks for reading.

End of January.

2010-01-31T18:54:00.000-08:00

So January is almost over........the first month of the year gone and I am a bit behind my "New Years Resolutions".....well, at least the most important things are covered: trying to stay optimistic and healthy. The rest can wait!

So to celebrate the first month of 2010 (keeping optimistic!) I ran to take advantage of the great sales of the season and decided to get some new kitchen appliances: a new mixer, ice-cream maker and meat grinder all from Kitchen Aid. Yes! I am so happy and can't wait to start using them.
I say, are ice creams expensive where you live? This is the reason why I decided to get myself one: I don't like to be ripped off just because I enjoy having ice cream from time to time. One of my favourites has always been Pistaccio ice cream, and here in Mexico a one scoop of such flavor is half the worth of 500grams of ham. Is this right? I don't think so. So I already went to the market and got my pistaccios to make some ice cream.
Have you ever tried making ice cream by hand? I have, a chocolate flavor, but I nearly ruined my hands.....well at least it turned out fine. My second attempt was after trying a flan recipe from a friend: she told me to mix milk, two eggs and an excessive amount of mango to make up a flan, of course it was a mess and so I added some more cream and eggs and ended up enjoying mango ice cream for more than a week.......but that was it: I needed the ice cream maker, so I will wait until the sun decides to shine out again........my Kitchen Aid mixer's color? (you guessed right Zia) citron. :)

So now about my other passion besides cooking: knitting. I am almost about to finish a pullover that started many months ago, I think by April. Shame on me! but I have many reasons why it has taken me so long to finish it: I moved to Canada, then there was something about this pullover that I did not like: the "gatherings" at the front which in my knitting ended up being holes. I am a few rounds away from finishing this "Gathered Pullover" from Interweave Knits (hurrah!) and hope that when I try it on for the first time those holes won't bother me. Anyway.....it has been so cold in Mexico City that I could use another sweater!

Happy Knitting to you all!

2010.

2010-01-16T18:29:00.000-08:00

I wish you the very best for this New Year!
It is funny, there is always so much to do during the holidays and suddenly everything is over and we are now at mid-january. Time flies!

So, unless you are living in the southern hemisphere, I hope the winter has not been to bad for you. I am currently in Mexico but have to say that the low temperatures of 5oC or lower during the early hours of the day are horrible to take especially when it is rare to have heating in houses in my country. After having a very cold weekend last week I was happy to enjoy a bit of sunshine today and actually see a butterfly (picture above) in the garden. There's been lots of rain, combined with low temperatures. These past days though no rain but a lot of wind.......february is around the corner!

So after a busy season and cleaning my house out of any 'Xmas decorations, I decided to pick up again a project that has been waiting its turn for a while. Everything was going smooth until a horrible mistake showed up:

so now I am unraveling each stitch down to almost 20 rows.........so before I end up being frustrated and keeping it for another year (yes, I should be ashamed), in the meantime I started knitting the sleeves of the "Gathered Pullover" from Interweave magazine that is also waiting to be finished:
so far it is enjoyable.........I am still not that used to knitting with double pointed needles.

Since my last post it has been a bit of a rollercoaster period for me. Don't you hate it when something that was going well suddenly changes and you are then left with the frustrating sensation that you lost your time? I am thankful for the lesson but now I am just sad because I got a bit hurt. C'est la vie!

Well, even if knitting gets a bit frustrating it never hurts! :)

A big embrace to you all!

Felicidades! Auguri! Congratulations!

2010-01-06T17:06:00.000-08:00

I wish you all the very best for 2010. Let's hope that this new year brings all of you, my friends and readers, a lot more sense of hope in these times of turbulence and uncertainty. May God and/or Life, gives you time to appreciate all the goodness that surrounds you.
Yesterday I received a letter from a good friend, in it he wrote something that I would love to share with you: "make the most of the time we have been given, by taking time for those we love......think about life's blessings. Take a short breath before plunging back into a hectic life. Then try to make this a habit. While at a red light, while stuck in the longest line at the grocery store....."

2009 was a very good year for me, I think it ended in the most unexpected and wonderful way as I have too many blessings to thank for. Among the greatest blessings are that I am alive, healthy and surrounded by the love of my family and friends. Another one has to do with Canada and its open doors for me; next, that the experiences I had in Toronto taught me great lessons about who I am and what I want in my life (the best experience any human being deserves to have!); then realize that I love my country, Mexico, and my city, Mexico DF, more than ever; and last but not least, that life keeps on surprising me with wonderful things and a gift that has to do with love and Italy suddenly appeared at my door.

Here is one of my favourite pictures of 2009: my wonderful brother with my darling nephew and me taken on Christmas Day.

I loved Christmas and did two things I love: knit and cook. Yes!
I think Christmas is the best time to do both things, especially since I like knitting gifts and treating family and friends with all I can cook........This last Christmas I almost finished a cardigan that I started in Canada (soon to be posted about here) and regarding cooking there were "French Fingers" cookies (mom loves them), Pandoro and chocolate truffles. For the Christmas lunch (Pranzo di Natale) my mom and I prepared a pumpkin soup, gamberi al burro with tarta salata di 5 formaggi (shrimp and cheese pie), cooked ham with roasted apple pudding and sweet potato pudding, together with artichoke salad, and for a nice finish, a New York style cheesecake with blueberry sauce.........thank God everything came out nice, tasty and healthy.
Anyone wanting the recipes, feel free to say so!

The last picture is a cute one. Being pigs special in our family because of what my grandfather built with them, an important pig's ranch, I found these little ceramic ones at my grandad's homeland these past december. The little wooden shed with a corn basket for them was a special addition to our Presepio.

Until next time!
Ciao!

Back to the Sun.

2009-11-27T14:34:00.000-08:00

So I am not only back in the country where the sun shines everyday, but also back into blogging again.
Do you know the feeling of being in a rollercoaster not really knowing where your feet are? well, this is the way I can resume the last three months spent in the country of the maple flag, my surrogate country: Canada.

I wish to thank my friends who have been close to me and who helped me figure out things while I was challenged everyday. To you all, my most sincere thanks.

Now that the rollercoaster has stopped and I feel like I am back with my two feet stepping strong on the ground I can only be grateful for the experience and the lesson. This life of mine where the unexpected awaits me on every door keeps on challenging me, teaching me and hopefully making me stronger and wiser ("never forget the lesson" as the Dalai Lama says!)
So, just like getting off a rollercoaster I got off a plane last week into something familiar, welcoming and so very missed.

Without going into details my experience way up north was nothing of what I expected it to be, with the good and the bad. This can both give you the thrill of the surprise but sometimes can also stress you out in an unecessarily degree.

To those who love drifting through life following the wind that comes their way and just take off like me, I know you'll understand what I am saying here: life is about constant change and it is so very brief; it is just a question of having enough courage to close a door an open another one.

I don't know where the wind will take me now but I know it will be again challenging and so very exciting.

In the meantime.................there is so much to knit!

Thanks for visiting.

Ending June.

2009-07-01T19:56:00.001-07:00

So June went by and I had no time to post here. I was planning to do so when I would finish another knitting project. I finished the knitting project, made the pictures, kept the top in the closet......but never came up with the time to post about it. (Ooops)
So here it is now, an all cotton top for the warm summer days.......if only it would stop raining in Mexico City! Don't you find it sometimes frustrating that you start up a project with the intention of finishing it just in time for a particular season and then the season goes by and you still have not finished? or on the other side, that you do manage to finish it and then the season is nothing like you thought it would be? Well, there is always nexy year :(

One good thing about June is that I finally came up to baking some favourite cookies of mine. I found the recipe in one of the mexican cooking books I posted about before and eventhough I had to make some slight alterations, the results were excellent. These are the "gorditas de masa", a type of cookie made with maze flour, sugar, one egg, baking powder and shorting. What I added was some water, as without it, it would have been impossible to make the cookies.

If you ever find yourself in Mexico City and visit the Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, you'll see that these cookies are sold there. A childhood memory of mine I am happy that I finally found the recipe. Yes! :)

May.

2009-05-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

I start this month with three more projects finished. All of them supposed to be finished before the hot weather would arrive in Mexico City. Wishful thinking because unfortunately the winter here was quite warm and it was difficult to work on any winter project. Then came January with its few cold days and in just a week or so the weather started to really climb. We reached close to 32oC and there was no way possible to either work or even wear any of those projects. Anyway, trying here to conclude "works in progress" I managed 3 altogether. Yes!
The above picture shows one of them, a quite "toasty" pullover made up of 100% alpaca wool. It is a crochet project that I liked the minute I saw it first at Interweave Crochet magazine. Anyway, I decided to change the colors as the ones suggested were a bit to sad. The great part of this project is its simplicity because almost all of it is worked with single crochet. So after cooking while posing for the picture, this project is now well kept in my closet. A piece of confort after such hard work is that I WILL have to wear it next winter.

This is a picture of another finished project. This one is from Vogue Knitting's Holiday 2008 issue. It all started because I had some left wool yarn in my stash that wasn't all that much, just a little over 250 grams. I bought such yarn years ago and I never got inspired to use it. To finish the top I had to use a bit of the same alpaca yarn I used for the crochet pullover above. The stitch used is nothing more than Stockinette stitch and a pretty basic rib, still, what I love about the finished top is its amazing fit and softness. It is the perfect project for fall weather and I just added a "little something" (an i-cord bow) to soften it a little. I named it "Dijon on Rye" because the colors are so like Dijon mustard over rye bread. Yummy :)

And now that we are talking about food, well this May I added up two more books to my all mexican recipe books: "The Larousse of Mexican Cuisine" by Alicia Gironella de Angeli, and the "Larousse of Desserts" by Paulina Abascal. I must say that they are both amazing. For someone like me who loves cooking, these two great mexican chefs offer a selected and well revised compendium of mexican recipes, both traditional and modern.

The "Larousse of Mexican Cuisine" really is worth having for anyone serious into learning about Mexico and its cuisine. I, who have some experience in the field was amazed at the thorough research done by its authors on the ingredients, recipes, tools and techniques. The "Larousse of Desserts" is another jewel for anyone with a sweet tooth. Being a Patissier I loved the modern edge Paulina Abascal gives to traditional recipes of sweets and cakes from Mexico. I am so glad I have them to accompany two of the best mexican recipes book I own: "Cocina Esencial de México" (The Essential Cuisines of Mexico) and "México, una Odisea Culinaria" (Mexico, A Culinary Odissey). Both from mexican cuisine connoisseur Diana Kennedy.
These books are also available in English and you can find more of the same author at bookstore websites. If you like reading about adventures into remote spots of Mexico and Mexican Cuisine, Mrs. Diana Kennedy is your author.

Buen Provecho!

Mexico City.

2009-04-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

This is a different post from the ones intended for this blog, nevertheless I felt driven to include a post about my beloved city especially after the recent events happening in it.

It has passed more than a century since the last time Mexico City had to be "shut down" because of a disease. I have never lived anything like this and never thought I ever would, but inspite of the seriousness of what an unknown infectious virus means in a city of 28 million inhabitants, I am also concerned about the image being portrayed of our capital city throughout the world. Aside from the news broadcasted during the last year of the fight against mexican drug cartels, we now have to see our city portrayed in the international news as a virus hazard. I was particularly disturbed at the views and images taken by CNN international of different places in my city, I mean, couldn't they find uglier places? No wonder why whenever we mexicans travel abroad we are frequently viewd either "to tall, to educated, to solvent..." We obviously don't fit the image they have in their minds.

The pictures included in this post belong to my good friend Paolo from Italy, who by a glimpse missed out on visiting Mexico City because his tour of Mexico did not contemplate it. (!!!) I am glad that he gave me the chance to be surprised by showing him what Mexico City is. The above image is the main square of Mexico City, named "Zocalo". After the Red Square in Moscow, it is the second largest square in the world. Its beauty not only resides that it is the heart of my city, but also because of the immense history that it has where you can find ruins of the aztec pyramids with one of the best prehispanic museums in my country "El Museo del Templo Mayor", but also the Cathedral or "Catedral Metropolitana" built between the 1500's and 1600's, right after the Spanish Conquest.

The next image is the university's central library (in fact one of the three similar in dimension) that the UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), my university, has on campus, and it is home for more than 400 thousand books. This picture was taken late at night when it is light up to show the incredible mosaic decoration of its walls.

This is just a very little glimpse to let you know that we are much more than drug cartels, poverty, illegal immigrants to the US, dead women in Juarez, and the latest, swine virus.

Thanks for reading.

New and New Projects!

2009-03-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

This time I would like to post about a particular matter that for sometime would make me feel a bit "bad", but after reading an article at the latest Spring '09 issue from Interweave Knits I now feel absolutely relieved and finally understood!

I wonder if anyone has read the following article on page 18: "Start as Many New Projects as You Can" by Vicki Square, but I think it is fabulous.

You see, for years I was haunted and many times disturbed about how fast and easy I would start new projects that I would take sometime to work on but eventually would finish. I was even nicknamed "Leonarda" because Messer Leonardo Da Vinci would always start and sketch new ideas and projects but would hardly finish them. I remember carrying my then initial enthusiasm for a new project as far as buying the yarn but would not attempt to start working on it because I needed to "discipline myself" and finish right away any knitting or crochet project I would have started. Yes, I have finished most of my started projects but within the years I realized that the inital enthusiasm for a not started particular project had washed away with time and it was sad to discover, years later, such yarn waiting its turn and just a sad reminder in my stash.

Before I read the article above I always regreted not starting projects while I was still excited by them as I know I would have finish them sooner or later. I mean, who cares about when you finish them, right? For me knitting and crochet are for relaxing.

If any of you has felt the way I have I hope you are able to read the article because it is not at all to prompt you into knitting or crocheting carelessly or starting new projects randomly, it actually focuses on that initial feeling for a particular project and actually question if any of the works in progress that you have around will eventually be worn, used, enjoyed or not at all. So as to keep them around, transform or discard them.

This last idea of putting current unfinished projects into perspective helped me transform an initial idea into a finished project: a granny square crocheted sweater that I don't think I would have liked to wear as I think I was starting to look like a big blanket; so it is now a cheerful little bag that I will definately use. As a designer I know that not all the initial ideas for a project end up exactly as first projected, they can transform into other, and why not, better things.

Although I liked the idea of having such sweater now I don't regret at all what it ended up becoming as I did not supress my initial enthusiasm. This is what counts!

With the above in mind I don't need to tell you that like the bursting Spring, I am having a lot of fun starting new projects! Check them out:

Freedom! :)

New Year, New Season, New Sweater.

2009-01-28T20:10:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know it is supposed to still be Winter but here in Mexico City the temperature is starting to feel like late Spring. At 27oC at midday well, seems like the chill is gone (sigh) even flowers are starting to bloom and my little friend in the picture is enjoying it all the way.

I know that a lot of people would kill to have such weather but I just wonder that if weather is this way now how will it be by March? This global warming is no fun and to be honest I am quite worried. I know I can do many things on my own to help but it is sad to see that your next door neighbour loves wasting water washing the garage everyday with the hose, or see that the city's government is still not organized regarding recycling and nobody worries, or to realize that more and more people are buying new cars because not only the public transportation is unreliable and dangerous, but now they are cheaper thanks to the economic crisis. Well, trying to be positive here but like Al Gore says: there aren't any real signs out there to make you think that people are getting the message. In the meantime I will keep on trying to get in touch with authorities regarding recycling trash.

So changing the subject, yes, I finished a new sweater:

It was a lot of fun because it was so fast to knit! When you are starting a new year and realize that the first month is almost over, finishing a new project in less than two weeks is great!

This one will go to be nicely kept in the closet for the real winters that I may have to face in a future (Toronto is at -4 oC).

See you soon

2008: A Year of Closure

2009-01-12T18:08:00.001-08:00

I would like to wish you all my very best for 2009. May all your wishes come true and may all your loved ones stay happy and healthy.

The past Christmas and New Year's Eve was not only special but also particular. It was our first Christmas in our new home and almost all of my family got together for a wonderful and fun reunion.

As the joy of remembering those moments with family is still vivid, now that this new year has started I cannot help but to think about what 2008 meant for me. It was definately a year of conclusion where not only a chapter in my life came to an awaited end, but also I got rid of heavy "luggage" that I had not been courageous enough to throw away before. I feel so much lighter! :) It was also a year that allowed me to get to know me better and challenge myself a bit further. I also got to knit and cook a lot!!

So now with lighter spirits and great expectations for this 2009, a year that will change my life forever, I was finally able to finish my most challenging knitting project so far. My "Primo Fair Isles" from Interweave Knits Fall 2007. I feel so proud after 8 months of suffering with it!

Here is a picture of the back:

And as usual, starting the New Year I started a new project that is both fun and fast. I am planning on finishing it within a week:

Here is a picture of one of the dishes that were served at our Christmas Dinner: a very easy stuffed loin pork roast. Thanks Martha Stewart! If you care for the recipe just ask!

Ciao.

Something Original to See!

2008-12-18T11:44:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody!

I received the following link that absolutely caught my attention. I think it is a wonderful way to both celebrate Winter, Knits and Music together.

It is a video from the canadian group "Tricot Machine" made out of more than 700 machine knitted images by the artist Lysanne Latulippe.

Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO0-1GKXZEA

Goodbye November 2008

2008-11-24T15:01:00.000-08:00

So this is the last week of November, my favourite month ;) It was my birthday last week and I had a very nice day and celebrated it among loved ones with a favourite cake of mine (above). No, I did not bake it because it was purchased at the same place I usually go to on my birthday for cake. Yumm!

So, I do not know about you, but here in Mexico City the Christmas season is everywhere. Sometimes I get surprised and a bit annoyed of the way commerce works. We are not mentally ready for a particular season but our local store or bakery pushes the experience into our lives. It is still November and I just saw a few days ago at my bakery the famous "Rosca de Reyes" that is baked on January. I mean, is this right? I am still in the Thanksgiving mode.

So unfortunately because of Santa Claus and his dwarfs I am no longer able to find any pumpkins anywhere. (Sorry Santa, I know it is not your fault, it is just the way things are in Mexico City!). So unlike other cities I know, I am forced into the Xmas Season early on.........but before I forget all about autumn I decided to post for my mexican friends my recipe for "Pumkin Bisque" (aka Pumpkin Soup). Sorry I took until the end of the season to do it.

Because I guess that cooking with pumpkins is quite common for my friends in the US, Canada or Europe I will not try to impress any of you here. Instead, for my loyal mexican and latin american readers here is my method for cooking pumpkins in spanish:

Ok Chicas! Perdonen si hasta ahora les paso mi método para cocinar cualquier tipo de calabaza de Halloween, lo que pasa es que no pensé en encontrarme más de una vez con alguien que me pidiera la receta. Vaya, pues hasta en Superama andaba dando tips a las clientas en la zona de frutas y verduras!

Bueno pues, aquí está para todas uds, y es más fácil de lo que creen! Lo primero que necesitan es tener un horno de microondas, con esto ya vamos de gane.

En la casa de Uds. mi abuela y mi mamá cocinaban la famosa receta de "Calabaza en Tacha" que es un dulce mexicano muy sabroso, pero nadamás. Así que como a mi me encanta el sabor de la calabaza de Halloween (no confundir con la tipo "zucchini") rica en betacarotenos, pues me puse a investigar.

El método de cocción que empleo no es mérito mío, sino de Martha Stewart, pero lo que es mío es que lo he adaptado a cualquier tipo de calabaza. Aquí en México venden varios tipos de calabaza, y otras que aunque son de la época, no son propiamente "calabazas" sino "squash". Para ambas el método es el mismo. Si se acuerdan, aquí en México se venden las siguientes calabazas: Calabaza de Castilla, Calabaza Halloween (la más grande y que tradicionalmente se le hace la famosa carita Jack o' Lantern), Calabaza Brujita y Calabaza Pay. Bueno, no todas son calabazas salvo las tres primeras, porque las que venden como "Calabaza Pay" son más bien "squash", ok? además éstas últimas son las más caras (a $24.00 pesos el kilo vs. $12.00 pesos el kilo de la de Castilla). En cuanto a sabor y color las que más recomiendo son la Calabaza Halloween y la Calabaza Pay anaranjada. De todos modos todas saben sabroso, sólo varía la intensidad.

Además del color y sabor, el peso es importante pues tengan en cuenta que mientras más grande sea, pues tendrán más materia prima para hacer varias recetas. Con una chiquita del tipo "Pay" les basta para la receta de la sopa.

Nota: la única calabaza que no puse a la prueba es la tipo "brujita" pues es tan pequeña que ni el gasto valía la pena hacerlo.

Una vez que se decidan a un tipo particular de calabaza es importante que tengan en cuenta que debe caber en el microondas. Algunas como la "Halloween" y la de "Castilla" son enormes. Pueden pedir que se las corten y se llevan lo que gusten recordando que en la cocción perderá agua osea que traten de llevarse alrededor de 2 kilos como mínimo.

En casa la van a lavar muy bien, si está abierta procurar no mojarla por dentro, ok? La secan bien con un trapo y la colocan en un recipiente de microondas, y la tapan ligeramente con papel de cocina.

Las fotos que verán a continuación es mi método ejemplificado con una calabaza conocida en EU como "Spaghetti squash".

Una vez tapada con papel de cocina, la meten en el micro y lo programan a la máxima temperatura por 10 minutos. Pasado el tiempo, abran la puerta y si pueden perforar la piel de la calabaza con la punta de un cuchillo quiere decir que ya está, si no, vuelvan a meterla igual a máxima temperatura por otros 5 minutos más o hasta que puedan clavarle el cuchillo. Cada calabaza es diferente, y hay algunas con la piel más gruesa que necesitan más veces en el micro.

No es necesario añadirle agua al recipiente, nada, sólo el papel de cocina. La calabaza solita se cocera por dentro y notarán que "sudará".

Cuando ya se le clave el cuchillo sáquenla y con cuidado y sin quemarse (estará muy caliente!) ábranla con el cuchillo para que empieze a enfriarse como se ve a continuación:

Notarán en seguida que la calabaza está, si no al 100% cocida, sí a un 90%. Ésta es la consistencia ideal, si notan que tiene partes duras, metan sólo éstas otro poco al micro igual con su papel de cocina.

Éste es el famoso "secreto". Nada más fácil, no creen? Una vez logrado ésto ya podrán preparar múltiples recetas como sopas, arroces y claro, el delicioso Pay de Calabaza del que puse un "post" en este blog hace unas semanas.

Cuando la calabaza se haya enfriado y la aguanten con las manos, con la ayuda de una cuchara o como aparece en la foto, una para hacer bolas de nieve, remuevan la pulpa de calabaza y deshechen la cáscara. Para las semillas usen un tenedor, y luego podrán tostarlas si así lo desean.

En la siguiente foto verán porqué se llama "Spaghetti Squash", pues su pulpa cocida parece fideos de pasta!

La pulpa de cualquier calabaza la pueden guardar (una vez fría) en el refrigerador para futuras recetas por una semana.

Para nuestra receta de Sopa de Calabaza se necesitan para 4 personas 1 kilo y medio de pulpa de calabaza ya cocida, y van a picar finamente cebolla blanca, 3/4 de taza, y ponen a derretir una cuchara de mantequilla en una cacerola.

Una vez derretida la mantequilla agregan la cebolla, sal marina y pimienta al gusto y lo dejan sofreír hasta que esté clara la cebolla. No dejarla quemar y mover continuamente.

Una vez lista la cebolla agregar toda la pulpa de calabaza, una cdita de tomillo y cuatro tazas de caldo de pollo a temperatura ambiente.

A flama alta permitir que el caldo alcance el hervor. Mientras, mover despacio la cocción y eliminar cualquier semilla de calabaza que se nos haya escapado.

Cuando alcance el hervor bajar la flama a nivel bajo y cocinar otro poco por 10 minutos o hasta que la calabaza esté totalmente suave. Cuando esté lista la cocción retirar del fuego y proceder al licuado.

Les recomiendo que licuen la sopa por partes y para evitar cualquier accidente con nuestra licuadora y la sopa caliente no tapen totalmente el vaso de la licuadora. Coloquen solo el anillo superior (tapa sin parte central) para así tapar el hoyito o alimentador de manera manual con papel de cocina doblado y sujetado con una mano. Ésto es muy importante hacerlo, ya que la alta temperatura de la sopa y la velocidad de la licuadora pueden hacer que la tapa salga disparada y se haga un batidero. Notarán que al accionar la licuadora sale "vaporcito" a través del papel, ésto es normal.

Una vez licuada toda nuestra sopa regresarla a la cacerola y a flama baja añadirle más sal, pimienta y tomillo al gusto.

Como toque final agregar 3/4 de taza de crema y mover hasta que se incorpore bien y la sopa tenga una consistencia tersa.

Listo! Al servir agregar si desean un poquito de tomillo encima o croutones.

Espero les haya gustado.

Con cariño para todas Uds.

Hasta Pronto!

Shorter Days Ahead.

2008-11-07T17:17:00.000-08:00

The autumn is in full force now and it reminds us of its presence every day that goes by. Time is flying and after preparing everything for Halloween and "Día de Muertos" in Mexico, it's a week later and now all stores are showered with Christmas '08 stuff. I like this but the abrupt change can be stressful, especially when there is so little time and so much to do.

To say Goodbye to Halloween '08 I baked again a Pumpkin Pie, I think I found the easiest and quickest recipe around. It obviously gave me time to make a little decor and take its picture before it would be tasted. This weekend will be my last chance to cook more "pumpkin" recipes; so far I've cooked a Pumpkin Bisque, 2 Pumpkin Pies, a Pumpkin Cake, a Pumpkin Risotto and a Pumpkin Bread.

So to celebrate Autumn I finished an Ascot from Interweave's Crochet Fall 2008 issue with whom I learned how to do Tunisian Crochet. I loved it. It was quite addictive and I finished this project in a wink!

Next is a picture of another finished project I started while having the cast on my left hand. It is my own design and it combines three techniques: loom knitting (for the back), circular knitting (for the short sleeves and all-around-collar) and crochet (for the seams and flower pin). I like the results very much.

And now a little update on the Fair Isles project that I really want it to be over. I am done knitting the body and gathered up enough courage to do the "steeks" and cut my knitting (!!) Yeap, it was scary but I made sure to sew the knitting very well while practicing my sewing skills. I just need to join the shoulders and do the ribbing at the cleavage, which I hope won't be to revealing (!) Looks quite nice on the mannequin, doesn't it?

So now the list comes down to 8 projects and the above Fair Isles is at 75%

A presto!

Pumpkins and Casting On.

2008-10-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

I love autumn -I know, I have already mentioned it before-, but I do. This autumn has been particularly cold in Mexico City where the sun shined for just a week or so. The present days are very humid, due to our vicinity to the Gulf of Mexico, so I suspect that the winter is going to be difficult. I know mexican winter has nothing to do with the one our neighbours on the north part of the hemisphere have to endure (Canada in particular), but there is one thing that does not help us down here: almost 95% of houses in Mexico have no heating system and are not made of wood but rather concrete........so houses are always cold.
Oh well, this is a perfect excuse to have hot coco and enjoy great winter time food, like one of my favourite ones ever: Pumpkin pies. I love their color and varietes, but most of all I love what I can cook with them. At the end of this post I will share an easy and successful Pumpkin Pie recipe for anyone interested.
One of the things I miss the most about Europe is the culinary culture. To be honest with you, before I ever lived there, pumpkins for me were just for "Jack-o-lanterns", or at their best, for an extremely sweet mexican pudding known as "Calabaza en Tacha". What converted me was an amazing pumpkin bisque I tried in Europe and it was love at first sight. The european markets with a real autumn background would offer endless varietes of pumpkins, squashes, etc. I only knew one, the famous "Calabaza de Castilla" sold in all mexican markets. In Europe I was at awe, as the variety was overwhelming. So I decided to put a remedy to my pumpkin ignorance and it has been quite a trip. Now living in Mexico, I do miss that autumn markets experience as I keep on seeing the same boring pumpkins sold at supermarkets, which are mostly used for Halloween. Sometimes I see squashes, half priced because no big Jack-o-lantern can come out of them, so nobody buys them. If they only knew what they are missing, oh, but I take advantage of it!

So Casting On. I always thought I was immune to endless casting on but I am starting to realize that perhaps I need a vaccination. I remember sometime ago, at a yarn shop, a lady who was buying yarn for her daughter to knit would say to her "promise you will finish the project". I was around her daughters age, still a teenager and did not understand what that lady was talking about because for me, knitting would absorb me so that my mother would even try to put my mind out of it especially during exams. I would always finish my projects, so finishing was not a problem. Nowadays it is still not a problem as I do finish what I start but there is something going on that I was not expecting: endless casting on, so instead of having to finish one or three projects I have around ten. Yes, I should be ashamed, right? but I am not. Why? because I think there is a very understandable reason: my feast for knit and crochet projects has developed over the years and now I am no longer satisfied with just one or two things going at the same time: my mind needs more, so I wonder why some people should say that it is a bad habit to cast on. So this puts my initial idea of vaccination totally off. I believe that knitting is a journey into discovering ones abilities and likes, so if you cast on, it means you are excerting it. It is pretty much like starting a new book. My rule of thumb: if it doesn't "catch" you at the very beginning, you might as well leave it and look for another one.
So now a realistic (and truthful) list of my current projects:
1) Fair Isle pullover (70%)
2) VK Tunic (40%)
3) Off the shoulder pullover (45%)
4) Granny Squares sweater (15%)
5) Turtleneck pullover (35%)
6) Vest (95%)
7) Crochet Ascot (50%)
8) Red Mittens (15%)
9) Crochet Cardigan (20%)
10) Scarf (30%)

This weekend I finish #6 and #7. I have been working on #1 for sometime now as it has been a surprisingly challenging project.
Balance: 5 of them are knitting projects (1, 2, 3, 5 and 8); 3 of them are crochet (4, 7 and 9); and finally 2 of them are done with a knitting board (6 and 10). My goal is to finish all of them by the end of November, I hope this is possible!

So now the recipe: "Prize Pumpkin Pie" by Canadian Living Magazine

Serves 8. Ingredients: 2 eggs, 1 can of pumpkin puree (140z/ 398ml), 1 can (300ml) sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar, 1tsp cinnamon, 1/2tsp salt, 1/4tsp each ground cloves, ginger and nutmeg, 1 unbaked 9-ich (23cms) pie shell.

Preparation: In a large bowl beat eggs, blend in pumpkin, condensed milk, sugar, cinnamon, salt, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. Pour into pie shell. Bake in 425 oF (220oC) oven for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 375oF (190oC) and bake for about 35 minutes or until pastry is golden and knife inserted into centre comes out clean. Let cool in rack.

Hasta Pronto!

Un vistazo al Hemisferio Sur/ A Glimpse of the Southern Hemisphere.

2008-09-22T21:41:00.001-07:00

Esta será la primera ocasión que escribiré una entrada en dos idiomas, en español y en inglés; y esto es por el bellísimo regalo que recibí de una nueva amiga, Elisa, de Chile.

This will be the first time I will be posting in two languages, in spanish and english, and it is because of the gorgeous gift I received from a new friend, Elisa, from Chile.

Elisa, MIL GRACIAS, tu dedicación es evidente en cada detalle. La bufanda me encantó, es la primera que tengo en crochet; las tres revistas de crochet, las agujas de colores, los seguritos, el block de notitas, tu postal, y el bello alfiletero (que descubrí fué hecho por tí) iluminaron mi día.......en realidad, toda mi semana.

Elisa, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, your dedication is evident in every detail. I loved the scarf, the first crocheted scarf I own now; the three magazines, the colorful knitting needles, the safety pins, the little note block, your card, and the beautiful pin cushion (that I discovered was made by you) illuminated my day.......actually my entire week.

El momento de recibir el paquete no pudo ser mejor, pues recién me enyesaron un brazo por andar haciendo cosas que no debo.......ahora estoy felíz, pues pienso que podré trabajar en crochet -el yeso esta en la izquierda- y las revistas traen modelos de crochet encantadores!

The time to receive the package could not be better because I just had one hand and arm being casted because I do things I should not do........now I am happy because I think I will be able to do some crochet -the cast is on my left arm- and the magazines have enchanting crochet projects!

Este es un close-up de la bufanda, no les parece hermosa?

This is a close-up of the scarf, don't you find it beautiful?

Elisa, muchas gracias de nuevo, ha sido un placer conocerte!

Tu amiga, Marie.

Knitting Magazine Models.

2008-09-17T13:20:00.000-07:00

This time I would like to write a bit about the way some knitting magazines, especially two, approach their readers. I am talking about Interweave Knits and Vogue Knitting which happen to be, in my view, the most influential knitting magazines in North America.
Not only as someone who works at the Fashion Industry but also as a subscriber and knitter I think I have an opinion about the messages I have been getting lately by these and other knitting magazines.

We have all heard about the way some magazines can affect the way we live. In the Knitting World, knits being an undeniable part of the Fashion Industry, either you agree with me or not, in knitting magazines they reflect the trends and styles of the current fashions. What distinguishes one magazine from the next is the way they communicate the latest trends, the way they translate them into wearable items, and the way they perceive their readers. Not at all an easy job to do as inspite of all the market research done, consumers do have the final saying: they either buy the magazine or not.

Vogue Knitting was the first American knitting magazine to arrive in Mexico City at the early 90's, and Mexico City knitters very soon discovered it. It is a fact that as soon as it arrives it disappears from newstands, hence my subscription. It was until the late 90's that Interweave Knits started to be sold here too. We were then introduced to two very different ways of viewing knitting trends and up to this day I can't seem to be without the other, precisely because they are so different: one gives me what the other doesn't and vice-versa. I had found an interesting balance.

Time went by and I was happy to mantain such balance between those two magazines until I started to notice that Vogue Knitting was changing at a much faster pace and giving mixed messages as it seemed to not only try to keep on being very fashionable but also it would embrace many opposite and strange styles. I was not surprised when I heard that they were having trouble in the Editor's department and then their competiton, Interweave Knits, was expanding itself and evolving into a magazine highly regarded by a vast number of knitters as the best knitting magazine. To make things even more difficult Interweave launched last year their newsletter "Knitting Daily" (a total success) and even a new magazine "Interweave Crochet". They are trying to do the same with "Felt". So while Interweave was reaching higher levels Vogue Knitting seemed to be a bit lost. So lost that it would not even have a working webpage for many months. With all this I lost the balance I used to have between them, why? because inspite of how much I like Interweave Knits I missed much more fashionable knitting projects.

Why am I writing all of this? because I think that the key to becoming a "sold out" knitting magazine relies on how much such magazine tries to know its readers. This brings me to a point of view I think most knitters would agree on with me: knitting is a very personal craft. It can be fashionable but in its origin it is a highly personal activity. What can be more personal than making something with your hands and something meant for you, your family or loved ones? not to many things out there. So, it is my wish that Vogue Knitting drifts away a bit from way to edgy styles and comes back to approaching its faithful readers to much more wearable -and yes fashionable- knitting projects. The remedy is on the way, the recent Vogue Knitting Fall 2008 has Ms. Trisha Malcom back again as its Editor and this is wonderful as I am sure she will do a great job. I have just one tiny complaint with its latest Fall issue: as opposed to its wonderful "Made in Canada" or "An English Garden" sections, "The Alluring Drama of Black and White" would have been really nice if only they would have chosen a different model. I find it so disturbing to see bony models in knitting magazines.

Shiri Mor's shift dress would have looked rather stunning in a curvy model. What did Interweave Knits instead include in its recent Fall issue? a beautiful full figured model that could be my next door neighbor. This is what makes both magazines so different and in the end, makes Interweave Knits much more approachable than Vogue Knitting to the average knitter in North America.

In the last Vogue Knitting Holiday 2007 issue the editors had a very good idea, they decided to include Ms. Paulina Porizkova. I liked this issue because while Paulina was a top model in the eighties I was a teenager devoted to Vogue magazine, so seeing her at Vogue Knitting helped me relate much easier to the magazine. This is being stylish without going to far. It was a good move by Adina Klein.

The above brings me to one of the most appreciated characteristics of Interweave Knits: they always use models who are just regular people pictured in regular environments as opposed to bony, cold, and unreachable models. I was glad to find out just recently that one of the models is the daughter of former Interweave Knits Editor, Ms. Pam Allen. Below, pictures of my favourite Interweave Knits models:

While living in Europe I encountered other knitting magazines being sold in numerous newstands. There I was introduced to Verena Stricken magazine from Burda that in my view seems to be a combo between "fashionable and wearable", something the above mentioned magazines are not alltogether. No surprise that I have been since then their subscriber. Here, three designs from their latest Fall issue (Herbst 2008)

I also was introduced to many other magazines like "Le Idee di Susanna" or "Mani di Fatta" who are still being edited. There was another italian magazine though, "Benissimo", that in its latest issues started including designs and models like the following:

I think that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but I think you would agree with me that the sight of that models' back is awful. "Benissimo" went out of print in recent years. No wonder.

So, it is my wish that Knitting Magazines never forget that knitting should never be put in an unapproachable environment with too much gloss and slickness. Most of the knitters I know like fashion and love looking pretty. In the real world, edgy styles although may look great in fashion shows don't do so well when it comes to editing a magazine for knitters who approach knitting with a warm heart. Trends and styles I think, should be communicated in a more reachable manner. It must be so difficult to edit a knitting magazine but I think that as long as you do not miss out on where you are standing and who are your readers then it will all work fine.

Thanks for Reading.

The Easy Art of Knitting.

2008-08-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

I hope that last week you had an excellent time full with many joyful hours of knitting. In my case my usual time dedicated to knitting had to be posponed a bit due to some unexpected things, some that made me reflect on the way we live our lives nowadays. I am positive and hope that some of you have reflected on the same thing I concluded after to many events happening one after the other: our lives have become way to complicated and there is no stopping.
What happened to me was the damage of yet another laptop due to a software problem and then my iPod lost all of its data and was unable to restore it. As you can imagine I was both stressed and very sad. After these events I just kept thinking, "do I need this? Not at all!"
To many nip codes, to many passwords, to many actions asked in order to perform many of our daily life activities. It is all so ridiculous! Perhaps this is the reason why I literally threw myself into knitting some years ago.

Knitting, such an amazing art. Could it get more simple than just a pair of needles and/ or hook and some yarn? It is a friendly and an easy-coming activity that surpasses any level of consideration as it can be a hobbie, a healing experience and a professional activity, individually or all at the same time. Ironically, if being compared with what I wrote above: instead of asking for complicated tasks in order to do simple things (I mean, technology is supposed to make our lives easier, right?), knitting comes the other way: in its basic form it is so simple and it only depends on you to take it into much more complex arenas, only if you want so. I love this, in my book this is called FREEDOM.

I am currently exercizing my freedom while still knitting my first Fair Isle (Jacquard) pullover. It can look complex but it won't delete or crash anything. If you make a mistake, you unravel and start over, in your time, whenever you are ready.

Still posting on knitting, while I went out to a market to forget about passwords and nip codes I was introduced to a technique that absolutely absorbed me: a knitting board. Has any of you tried it?
The owner of a little yarn store at the market taught me the basics of it while listening to the merchants sell their produce. Here in Mexico it is named "telar", in english "loom"; a mistake as looms are a completely different thing, but still this little knitting board and the simplicity of it healed me too from technology. Wow, I love it.
Check out what I knitted in just a day:

On other things I am currently trying to make a knitting diary by using my file at Ravelry. I have been taking pictures of everything that I have knitted and will soon add them up at "my notebook" at Ravelry.com. They are all a reflection of so many things lived through in my life. One of them is the following, and it represents a lesson I had to learn because unfortunately I will only be able to show you a picture of the project at the magazine:

The photo belongs to a sweater that I knitted for someone who was special back then. I was starting up in knitting and inspite of the many long evening hours spent, the results were very good. I gave it then as a gift and never thought I would lose track of it forever because eventhough I asked for a picture of it I never got it and so back then I learned to value my time and effort better and get wiser when it comes to giving away projects that have so much of me in them. If anyone asks me if I have suffered from the "curse of the boyfriend sweater" I have to answer yes, twice. Now I just knit scarfs :) :)

Thanks for reading, I am still recovering from last week.

Hasta Pronto!

A Surprise from Down Under.

2008-08-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

It is starting to feel like Autumn here in Mexico City. The sun shines in the first part of the day but soon in the afternoon the shadows start to get longer and the rays of light begin to take a soft orange color. I simply love it. It is definately my favourite season of the year.

This time the first signals of autumn started with a a very special parcel from beautiful Australia. My dear friend Patrizia sent me a very special gift that has brightened the whole season.

Isn't this lovely?:

A beautiful wool and angora lace scarf, 4 delicious Twix bars and the cutest stuffed bear to accompany my knitting bear. They look good together, don't you think?

Thank you very much Patrizia, my very best to you all the way to Australia!

Also to celebrate the coming season I designed, cut and sew myself a blouse. This is the first time I am posting here a piece of clothing made by me. I love its color -again green, right Patrizia? ;)
Fashion Design is something that is part of my personal and professional life so I'll be glad to start also sharing this part with you here.

See you soon!

Second Half of the Year.

2008-07-30T13:24:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I last posted but I decided not to do it until I finished a particular knitting project that I wanted so much to conclude.

July is almost over but this month represents an important period of the year for me. It means that the first half is over and whatever you planned for the year, if you still have not accomplished it then you still have some more time. It also means making final decisions about those "New Year Projects" because six months is also not such a long time, so it basically prompts you into getting "realistic" about them.

I do not like to make "New Year Projects" but I do like organizing my time, as much as this is possible in this very hectic life. One of the things I do love making projects about is knitting and sewing. This year has been a little slow regarding sewing due to logistic reasons (my studio is under construction), but regarding knitting things come fairly easy, and I just love it. You just need a comfortable space, yarn, needles and good mood.

As June ended and having realized that I had to many "cast ons" and unfinished projects I firmly decided to put a final point with them.....and so far it has been working. This obviously meant not starting any new projects until I was done with these six......difficult but doable!

So now comes my first accomplishment, the "Jacaranda Sweater" has been completed after many months of working on and putting it away after feeling tired.

I started it last May, yes last May of 2007! Oh my! this made me think why it is that I took so long and it is basically because although it was an easy project still it was also demanding: just a little distraction was enough to lose the way and find yourself having to face unraveling some rows........this happened frequently, I am afraid. But well, now it is time to celebrate! On the bright side I must say this project has excellent fit, something difficult to achieve sometimes. Check it out......

Going back to demanding projects I started recalling other similar projects that I had knitted in the past. The funny thing is that eventhough the knitted chart looks quite demanding......

....I do not recall ending so tired from it. The following is a picture of the second knitting project I ever did. It took me three months to finish it back in 1997 -talk about being excited with knitting!- and I still love wearing it. I am sure I will keep it forever. The fit is also great.

So now it is three more knitting projects and two crochet ones to go, July is still not over and I trust I will be posting here about another finished project soon!

To end this post with my traditional recipe I thought of sharing and experience I long looked forward to doing. No, I will not post the recipe because this one is a complex mexican dish (and after the Jacaranda Sweater I need a break!), I am talking about "Tamales", the ones from the state of Oaxaca, in the Pacific Coast of my colorful country. My friend Blani from Oaxaca took the trouble of teaching me how to do these delicacies that consist of maze dough with green and red tomato hot sauce that are wrapped around banana tree leaves. Deliciosos!

Hasta Pronto!

From May to June.

2008-06-16T17:02:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I have posted in this site, although it seems like it was yesterday when I was writing here about having taken a break, etc. I am glad now that I did take a break then because the second half of May was quite a busy time for me. Which I am glad about, I do not like to complain.

The second half of May arrived with some unexpected surprises. First of all a very old and not to special cacti plant in the garden started to grow three flower buds. It was amazing to see how quickly and big they grew in just a week and a half and of course I was very curious to see the type of flowers that were going to open up. The first one did in a very chilly evening, it was beautiful and when the next morning I went out to the garden to see it close it was already dead, this was dissapointing. Then a few days later the same happened to bud number two. By the third one I realized that these little miracles had only a few hours of life during the night. So this time, when it started to open up in the evening I waited until really dark and went out with my camera (just in case I need to wait for 8 more years to see this cacti bloom again) and click! (picture above) I captured the third and last flower at full bloom. Isn't this amazing? It was so beautiful and yes, such beauty faded quickly at dusk. This reminded me that many beautiful things in life last for brief periods.......I have one question though, how come a mexican cacti that is under the sun 24/ 7 blooms when there is no light what so ever?

So then came the next surprise: the weather changed drastically. After enjoying (and not so much anymore) really hot days, Mexico City became a very gray city. It has not stopped raining for the past two weeks, from morning to evening and so I started getting cold. I thought I needed asap something to carry on in case of another change of weather. I found at a webpage what seemed to be a very easy and fast shawl project. Because it was my first shawl I thought of giving it a try.

I named it "Tiger's Eye Shawl" and here is a picture of it:

The next surprise is that whilst knitting it, it became huge. This does not bother me because it is quite snug and comfy, it can be used also like a blanket, but it is not anymore something you can put inside your bag. Ooops!
Check out it's size, I love the color too.............the grass is huge thanks to the rain!

And then the last unexpected surprise: My annual flu, and I call it "annual" because I never get sick but when I do it is a nightmare. I am almost out of it but what a pain. Of course this was bound to happen because some stores have yet not realized that there is pouring rain out on the streets instead of scorching sun so they have not changed the air conditioning inside.
The good part of it is that when you ask yourself "What to do when in bed with a flu?" the answer comes right away: KNIT! so yes, because I was cold I tossed away my summer knitting and decided to knit myself a cap. This one, by the way, will be a perfect thing to carry on in case I feel to cold in a store. By the way, have you noticed how ridiculously cold some stores, particularly grocery stores can get? I mean, is anybody here worried about global warming?
My "Wavy Cap", knitted in "spring":

And that one was my last surprise, what comes next is me posting another recipe for you guys. It is easy, fast, includes easy to find ingredients and if you like spinach then I hope you like it:

"Spinach and Cheese Puff" /Food Everyday Magazine

Serves 8 / Prep Time: 10 mins / Total time: 40 mins.

Ingredients:

-butter, for baking dish.

- 3 packages (10 ounces each) of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry or 6 1/2 cups of washed fresh chopped and squeezed dry spinach.

- 1 1/2 cups of half and half cream.

- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten.

- 1 1/2 cups coarsley Gruyere cheese (6 ounces) or your favorite melting cheese.

- coarse salt and ground pepper.

- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.

1.- Preheat oven to 350 oF, Butter a shallow 1-quart baking dish.

2.- In a large bowl, combine spinach, cream, eggs, 1 cup Gruyere, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1/8 teaspoons of pepper, nutmeg; stir to combine. Spread evenly in prepared baking dish, and top with remaining 1/2 cup Gruyere. Bake until set and top is golden brown, 30 to 35 mins.

Enjoy and see you soon!

Taking a break.

2008-05-09T21:19:00.000-07:00

Just like my little Dolce here I decided to take a little from knitting and crocheting. It was not because of boredoom with my current projects but actually it was because I felt that my hands needed a real break. Although I did not entirely quit I would only work for bits, and the sacrifice has paid off. My hands are healed and now I am retaking my favourite hobbies!

One of the first ones was one of the two crochet projects that I am working on. After feeling pain in my right hand whenever I would crochet for sometime (scary!) I did a little research and found out that there was another way I could hold the hook: like a knife. Eureka! my right hand does not hurt anymore and now I am enjoying crochet again! I am happy as I always liked it so much but would always hurt......not anymore now! :)
Here is a little update on the crochet skirt I am doing:

On other projects, because I am so excited about crochet I decided to fix an old knitting project that has been sitting in my closet for to long. It was the second knitting project I ever did and I always liked it. The reason I stopped wearing it is that when pants became low rise I was showing to much of my belly! Mmm, I don't mind showing but not that much so I decided to add a crochet rib to it, let's see how it goes!

During my break I had a special surprise. A plant that has travelled from far away lands to reach aztec territory decided to give me its best gift: a flower, but not just one but 4 this time! I have only seen it bloom three times in all its life: one in Switzerland and two in Mexico. First in Mexico it took 2 years to bloom; this time it took a year and a half to bloom again.......after seeing the following pictures can you believe that once, while travelling, it was just a sad potato packed in a ziplock?

2 flowers opened first.....

....two days ago the other two, to make 4 in total. They are so big you can see their size in the picture.

So after having such a surprise I had two not very pleasant ones in the kitchen department. One with a carrot cake that I did not like, the other one last night with a banana bread that kept on growing in the oven 'till it made a burning mess inside!....the good thing is that the flavor is quite good and being cake lovers at home it is almost finished by now :)

I decided this time to post a soup recipe for a change. It is one of my favourites and what I like is that it is both easy and inexpensive. It is from Martha Stewart.

Cream of Celery Soup.

Serves 6 to 8

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

10 pale-green inner ribs celery, coarsley chopped (about 3 1/2 cups)

1/3 cup coarsley chopped shallots (or simple onion if you wish)

1 small russet potato, peeled and cut into cubes

Coarse salt

6 cups homemade or low-sodium chicken stock

1/4 teaspoon plus a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

very thin slices of toasted baguette

pale-green celery leaves for garnish

1) Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add celery, shallots, potato and a pinch of salt. Partially cover; cook, stirring often, until vegetables are soft but not browned. About 15 minutes.

2) Add stock; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low; cover, and cook 30 minutes. Stir in nutmeg. Let cool.

3) Purée soup in a blender or food processor in batches until completely smooth. Pour through a fine sieve into a large bowl, pressing with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Return soup to a pan; stir and season with salt. Just before serving, heat soup over medium heat (do not boil). Serve topped with baguette slices; garnish with celery leaves. Soup can be refrigerated, covered, up to 2 days.

Enjoy!

A presto!!

My Teachers.

2008-04-13T20:55:00.001-07:00

This time I would like to honor the very special teachers I have had in my life. Since a tender age they helped me become the woman I am now and they also taught me the joy and appreciation of handmade objects like knitting and crochet. The above picture shows the very first crochet piece I did at age 7. It is a little tea carpet I crocheted under the patient and loving guidance of my maternal grandmother. It was such fun to see how magically my tiny hands were able to make something out of a hook and a thread! I believe that since that moment an important part of my life was decided: working with fibers.

The above and below pictures show a bit of my maternal grandmother's ability with crochet. She did this pair of gloves that have such a romantic flair and they fit my hands.

The following is another example of her crochet. I think she loved crochet more than knitting!

On the other hand my paternal grandmother was very good at knitting and eventhough she did not teach me how to knit she inherited me the first ever knitted baby sweater she did for my dear father when he was just born. Isn't it lovely?

Now comes my mother who happens to be an excellent crocheter, knitter and was amazing at needle point. I say was because now her eyesight prefers knitting. Here is a little example of what she used to do as a young girl. It is a crocheted carpet (1 of 4) with incredibly tiny cross-stitching.

I hope I will be able to carry on this tradition as sometimes unfortunately it seems to be escaping from the attention of the newer generations. Now it seems there is less time to dedicate oneself into working with a needle or a hook and a thread. This makes me feel even more compromised into making sure that what was inherited to me will pass on and will not stay as "things our grandmothers used to do".

Now to finish honoring the women in my family I baked a very easy and homely cake, one of my mom's favourite: Maple Cake.

Ingredients:

- 16 Tablespoons of unsalted butter, room temperature plus more for pan.
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for pan.
- 2 teaspoons baking powder.
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- 3/4 cup pure maple syrup.
- 1/2 cup sugar.

- 2 large eggs.

- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.

- 3/4 cup sour cream.

Preheat oven at 350oF. Butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

With an electric mixer, beat butter, maple syrup, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; mix in vanilla.

With mixer on low speed, alternately add flour mixture and sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 45 minutes. Cool ten minutes in pan. Turn out of pan, and cool completely on a rack, right side up.

From Food Everyday/ Holiday Baking 2007.

Enjoy!

Full Bloom!

2008-04-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is oficially spring and it is wonderful to see everything in full bloom in Mexico City. Together with the warm weather and ocassional showers it is time to finally finish the winter projects and start the spring ones, especially since winter in my city is almost non-existant.

For this difficult task it is always good to have the help of dear friends like my little "Dolce" :)

He is a good sport and always likes to test proof yarns, finished knitted objects and everything with fiber......the fuzzier the better! We are now trying to decide which new crochet project to start since it has been a while since I have done any. I was thinking of perhaps an easy scarf or shawl.....any suggestions?

So here is a picture of my black foulard that I renamed "Blackwidow" :)........oh, it took ages to be finished and I have already worn it. Actually while ending the ribs of this project I remembered how enjoyable crochet can be, so now I am hooked again!

Also, I have finished the body of the "Jacaranda" sweater. Yes! I am glad and now I will start the sleeves. Did you know that the name "Jacaranda" comes from a tree native from Brasil? It was brought in the XIX century to Mexico by the Matsumoto family, the best florists in my country. The tree adapted perfectly to the weather in Mexico City and it only blooms once every year, in march, by replacing all of its green leaves with lavender color flowers. Many parts of Mexico City are at this moment colored by these "Jacaranda" trees just like the sweater below.

And now to the recipes part! No desserts or cakes this time, actually a favourite recipe of mine. The classic "Pomodori Ripieni". I know two recipes but have found that this one in particular is quite good and non complicated, just in case you do not want to spend hours in the kitchen because you prefer to knit more! :)

Note: For each tomato use two tablespoons of raw arborio rice. This way you will not end up with a ton of unused rice.

Ingredients:

8 large ripe but firm tomatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup minced parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup raw arborio rice
1 teaspoon saffron (optional)
2 cups hot chicken consomme
salt
pepper

Cut a slice from the top of each tomato, under the stem and scoop out the pulp carefully without breaking the shells. Reserve the tops. Strain the pulp through a sieve and reserve (you will use very little of this in the recipe). Place tomatoes side by side in a shallow baking dish with olive oil. Sprinkle each tomato with olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper in the inside.
Heat the 1/2 cup of olive oil in a pan and cook parsley and garlic for a few minutes and add raw rice -without previously soaking it in water- and cook stirring constantly 3 to five minutes. The garlic should not burn. Stir saffron into the consomme that should be hot. Add hot consomme to the rice, and lower the heat. Cover and cook for ten minutes stirring frequently to avoid the rice to stick in the pan. When the rice is "al dente" remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
Fill 3/4 of the tomatoes with the rice and with a spoon pour just a bit of the strained pulp and cover with the cut slices. Sprinkle on top with a bit of olive oil and season with a bit more salt and pepper.
Bake in a preheated moderate oven (350oF) for no more than 30 minutes without covering. Check that the tomatoes do not break. If necessary cut down the time in the oven.
A plus: if possible use the "roast" in your oven to give the tomatoes a nice color on top. Allow them to cool down prior to serving.
Enjoy!

Hasta Pronto.

Spring.

2008-03-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

Today I received a gift from my nephew, his first Easter eggs done by him. He was so excited in giving something he created on his own. I decided to start my post with a picture of such special gift. Gracias Juan Carlos!

So now we are almost at Spring and almost at Easter. The weather in Mexico City has been quite hot and my winter projects are now kept deep in my drawers. I decided to start a new project for this coming season. It is inspired by a downloaded pattern at the Vogue Knitting website from Vladimir Teriokhin, a very good designer. Although the original pattern is quite nice just the way it is I decided to add a little something to make it a bit more "coquete". Something simple really: a set of lace hearts that I will keep on knitting on all the project vs. the simple St st suggested by the designer. Here a picture of Teriokhin's "Off-The-Shoulder Pullover".

And here is a picture of my version with my favourite model posing -he loves to sleep on top of my stash!-. I am following the lace heart pattern from a book and think it looks quite nice. In this project I am trying to improve my "lace" technique.
Aside from the lace pattern I also changed the color to make it more vibrant and "loud" and as always I am not using the type of yarn suggested because I already had a very nice french cotton. Hope to finish it before Spring ends!

Still on the Lace theme I an trying to finish a very old project, my own design......oh how difficult it is to retake a lace pattern! It is a long foulard and I am glad that I left some notes and so I must finish it soon. Its starting date? well....March 2004. :)

Some news: I am now at Ravelry!

Finally all this hot weather has put in season oranges everywhere so I baked an orange cake to celebrate. From Margaret Fulton's "Encyclopedia of Food & Cookery":
Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup of butter or margarine.
- grated rind and juice of one medium orange.
- 3/4 cup caster sugar.
- 2 eggs, separated.
- 2 cups self-raising flour.
- pinch of salt.
- 2 or 3 tbsp milk.
- sifted icing (confectioner's sugar)

Cream butter with orange rind and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time and beat well after each. Sift flour with salt and fold into creamed mixture alternately with strained orange juice and milk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and gently fold in. Spoon into 20cm round or square tin pan greased with melted butter, bottom lined with greased waxed paper and dusted with flour. Bake in a preheated moderate oven (180 oC/ 350 oF) for 35 to 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in centre comes out clean. Turn out on to a wire rack and when cool dust with sifted icing sugar.
Enjoy!

Hasta Pronto!

Special Things.

2008-03-05T15:49:00.000-08:00

I love to knit, but I also love to sew. Before I ever took a pair of needles sewing was already a very active part of my life, especially because my grandmother's sewing machine was left at my home. This Singer sewing machine (pictures above and below) was bought by my grandfather in the early 50's and it still works like brand new. Of course I have a modern sewing machine now, computerized with the latest technology, but I can't help having a special feeling towards my grandmother's sewing machine. It reminds me of her and enjoy using it.

My grandmother never knew how big her influence would be in my life but knowing her I am almost sure she saw in my early years of age a shared love for certain things. She left her Singer at my home perhaps with the plan to tempt me into sewing one day only to see that designing clothes became my profession later in life. Perhaps she saw something when she taught me how to crochet. I was about 7 or 8 when I crocheted a little carpet for the first time. All the patience I took to finish it, the many hours seeing how the work would grow...... finally discovering how I could create with my hands something. Sewing came natural to me.

Unfortunately she was not around anymore when I started getting curious about knitting although I was always amazed of the beautiful things my aunt would knit -it was like magic to see the many things she could knit-, so if I already knew how to crochet I self taught myself to knit. Of course, I made mistakes and now I am trying to fix one of them!

Here is a picture of one of my first knitting projects. It is a pullover knitted with three strands of mohair. It had very little to do with what I wanted to achieve and then what resulted was a very bulky and very warm piece!
I always liked the yarn (100% New Zealand mohair) so I have decided to unravel it. I am amazed as from one sleeve I got 3 skeins of 100grams each. No wonder it was warm! I will wash it and then use all the yarn for a nice pullover that I will later post about here.

I am still trying to finish my first project knitted in the round from the neck. I have discovered that it was voted by readers to be one of the few projects included in a compilation of the best knitting projects by Interweave Knits from the past ten years. I like it, I have now started knitting the waist (still missing the sleeves).

And last but not least, I have finished another scarf for the chilly nights. It is from Robin Melanson, a Canadian knitter whose sense of style resembles mine.

It is from Interweave Knits Winter 2004 and as usual I had to replace the yarn but I do like the results. I used Katia's "Azteca" (50% wool, 50% acrylic) -funny name for a yarn with colors never liked by the Aztecs!

See you soon!

Finally some peace.

2008-02-22T10:59:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I have made a post here, but now I am back!

These past months have been quite hectic basically because I moved. OMG! it was exhausting having to move again in less than a year and anyone who loves having yarns around understands my frustration when everything had to be packed again.

Oh, but soon enough I have started unpacking and while setting things up around my home I managed to finish a scarf made to match with the cherry beret I did some months ago.

Too bad days over here are so hot, I will have to wait for the next winter to use it!

See you soon!

Life is a Celebration.

2007-12-09T16:21:00.001-08:00

I find it amazing having to wait an entire year to see a plant bloom like this. It is a much awaited celebration for me as this little plant, my Wheinachts cacti, have come a long way together. Born in Switzerland and now living in Mexico it reminds me that many wonderful things in life are worth waiting for!

Just like my little cacti that starts blooming whenever the temperature goes down I have started to knit winter hats. Besides the Cherry beret, last week I decided to knit another hat of a "Zhivago-esque" style from VK that was fast and fun to do. What do you think?
Oh! and I finally finished my "Granny Smith" top! It took me more time than it was supposed to but I am happy with the results. It was knitted in a 100% cotton yarn and it will be among the first things I will wear as soon as the weather goes up again.

And to end up another week of celebration I baked some pear & granola muffins to accompany a nice cup of espresso (Lavazza please!), Twinings English Breakfast tea or a hot coco.

If anyone cares for the recipe feel free to ask for it.

Hasta Pronto!

Getting ready for Winter.

2007-11-23T15:22:00.000-08:00

Hello again! This time I want to share with you a small project that took less than 3 hours to knit and helped me put my mind a bit away from the other knitting projects I am currently working on. I do not consider myself to be a fast knitter, but I am also not that slow. It depends on the project, still, this one was so much fun to knit!
It is from Vogue Knitting Holiday '06 issue and it has already setup my mind for the coming winter season. Gosh! I wish there would be snow in Mexico City.

On other more delectable things I finally learned why we name peanuts in a particular way in Mexico. We call them "cacahuates" and more than once people abroad would find it funny that they were called that way as, for example in italian they are called "arrichidi" and in french "arriquides". Spanish being also a latin language I never understood why we would call them with such a particular name, but now I know. It is because of the aztecs and this fact made me smile. The aztecs language, the "mexica", was very interesting. All words were composed of particular roots with a unique meaning. In the case of peanuts the aztecs would call them "tlalcacahuatl", tlalli meaning "earth" and cacahuatl meaning "cacao bean", resulting in "cacao bean from the earth". Nowadays we just call them cacahuates!

Rita, this one is for you,

Chocolate Glaze
(from Margaret Fulton´s "Encyclopedia of Food & Cookery")

Melt together 60 g/2 oz (4 tbsp) butter and 60 g/ 2 oz (1/3 cup) dark chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water. Gradually beat in 2 tbsp boiling water, 140 g/ 4 1/4 oz (1 cup) icing (confectioners) sugar, sifted, a pinch of salt and 1/4 tsp vanilla essence (extract). Use as a glaze over chocolate cake.

Late Autumn.

2007-11-13T11:22:00.000-08:00

Chocolate. One of Mexico's gifts to the world used during precolonial times as both currency (cacao beans) and as and exotic beverage enjoyed only by the aztec emperors. Today Mexico produces a very characteristic type of chocolate, the most famous coming from the state of Oaxaca. It is the result of mixing together cacao beans with almonds and cinnamon. This type of chocolate is used for hot chocolate drinks traditionally prepared with boiling water (not milk), and for different mexican recipes, like for example our famous "Mole Poblano" where chocolate is mixed with hot chiles to make an interesting sauce for meats and rice.
I have to recognize that although I love chocolate in Mexico, it is in Europe where I have tasted the most exquisite chocolate. Italy, Belgium, France, Switzerland....european chocolatiers transformed the mexican cacao beans in one of the most loved delicacies in the world. Who can escape a piece of chocolate cake? not me! I baked this cake for my mom's birthday and tried a new recipe for the glaze. A mix between dark chocolate, butter and flour that resulted in an easy to spread glaze that would keep its shape. Excellent! if anyone is interested feel free to ask me for the recipe.

Now writing about chocolate I decided to name one of my current knitting projects "Praline'". It is a V-neck dress pattern from Vogue Knitting Holiday '06 (pattern # 33), and I am almost done with the back!

Aside from chocolate I have also been enjoying the most wonderful autumn weather in Mexico. It has been a rediscovery as I have spent the two last autumns out of my homeland. We are now at 25oC and the sun shines everyday. Flowers are blooming in the garden like these ones called "Orejas de Elefante" (Elephant Ears) that remind me of the color of another of the knitting projects I am working on...

.....it is a pattern from Interweave Knits Spring '07 that is giving me the chance to knit my first sweater from the neck down. It is a cable down raglan by Stefanie Japel that I hope to finish before Christmas!
Last but not least here is a picture of the top I talked about previously. I have already added small sleeves and I wish to finish it anytime soon, as it should no longer be just decorating my room!

Color.

2007-10-18T16:13:00.001-07:00

Hello Everybody,
It is now the turn to write a bit about color, particularly color in Mexico. Have you guys ever noticed how vivid color can be in my country? The first time I realized how color was different in other places of the world is when I started travelling abroad. It never occured to me but I always thought that the intenstity of color was the same everywhere. I was very wrong.
Color is something you grow up with. It surrounds every aspect of your life and once you are confronted with the way other cultures view color you realize that no matter where you go, you will always see the world according to the colors that were always next to you.
Here is a little example, it is a picture of the church infront of my house. A flower arrangement was setup at it's main entrance because of the October festivities (Saint Francis of Assisi). I love it.

Now talking about color and knitting I should say that green color has always been a favourite of mine. In fact, I used it to knit my first ever knitting project back in 1996. I taught myself to knit, it was rather easy as my dear grandmother taught me how to crochet at age 6, so knitting came natural. I copied a model from one of my mother's old time knitting magazines, a "Bettina" magazine from 1968! I only decided to make the sleeves a bit short. I used a very nice english acrylic yarn, I thought it was the easiest type of yarn to start knitting with. I was not wrong and the color has never faded.

I still keep the magazine, it is amazing how some models still seem to be contemporary.

Now here is another picture of yet another green sweater I did a year ago. It is my "mint" oversized cowl neck sweater that is so soft and comfortable to wear, preferably with a belt, so it does not drop. It is my own design and I used a mexican boucle yarn, 100% acrylic. Finally, I am about to end another green project that has taken sometime to be concluded. The problem is that I got the yarn in Switzerland some years ago and almost at the end realized that I needed a bit more. This is the problem when you buy yarns abroad and even more so when the design is your own like this one is. I have only one skein left and still need to do small (very small!) sleeves. It is a summer top so I am not worried, the yarn is a 100% cotton. I should finish this project soon as it was left for a while in my knitting basket waiting its turn.......anyway it was lovely to see it decorate my room with its lovely green hues! :)

Hasta Pronto!

Nada Personal, Nada Especial.

2007-09-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

"Nothing Personal, Nothing Special...." a song from one of my favourite groups, "Soda Stereo" from Argentina. I bought their latest compilation cd yesterday together with others like James Blunt newest album. It is wonderful to remember old times and still feel the vibe of the moment inspite of the years passed.
Today without trying to be to "personal" there aren't those many "special" things I can say about the knitting arena in Mexico. Perhaps this may be a bit of a shock to many of you but what seems to be a fashionable and /or a popular activity in, let's say the US it is quite different down here. This makes me remember about a time (2006) when I was in Toronto, Canada in a very interesting store named Romni Wools. A place where they have stacks of yarn from floor to ceiling, a place pretty much like a warehouse but a total feast to the eyes of a knitter. While paying for some beautiful and very cheap skeins of yarn from France the owner noticed I was a tourist and the moment I mentioned I was from Mexico she immediately said "It must be yarn heaven down there!". I just nodded because I felt both sad about knowing the truth and also because I did not want to spoil her cheerful attitude. This does not mean that there is no knitting in my country, on the contrary but it is an activity of almost a 100% folk art. This is, you need to take a plane out of Mexico City to find handmade skeins of yarn that are also hand painted. The best place to go is the state of Oaxaca, on the Pacific Coast, a truly "heavenly" place for folk knitters. In another day I will speak more about Oaxaca. Today I will focus on life for a knitter like me in Mexico City.
I am fortunate to live close to an area of the city pretty much of what Greenich Village or Soho are in New York. A very lively place where many artists live. This past year it has grown a bit more and for my luck two new yarn stores have opened! You can imagine my enthusiasm. One is called "El Club de la Araña" (The Spider's Club) and the other one "Tala". Now, these are new places that are starting and so still need to work on their costumer service skills but I am hopeful. About the merchandise they carry, 95% of it is composed of imported skeins from Spain, Peru, France, Italy, etc. and only 5% represents the only mexican brand that has a certain quality to standout: "Omega" yarns.
Because of the huge market competition due to globalization unfortunately many mexican fiber and yarn producers closed their activities. Only "Omega" has been able to withstand the competition, they mainly produce 100% cotton yarns with very nice colors. Mexico is not a real wool producer.
Last year I bought my first stash of "Omega" yarns that I used to knit a lace project. I am happy with the results.
Here is a picture of such project, I hope you like it.
In the meantime I say farewell and promise to keep on writing about Mexico and also clear out some myths while I am at it.
All the best, Marie.

Autumn Sweaters

2007-09-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

I want to share with you a project that I finished some months ago. It is an up to the knee coat inspired by Pattern # 8 from Verena Stricken Herbst 2004 issue. It took me some months to finish but I really enjoyed working on it. The yarn I used is from Lanartus (Italy) 15% Wool 11% Mohair and 74% Polyacrylic. I used about 800 gr. One of the things I enjoy knitting with are cables, I just love the way they look according to the light, they sort of become alive!

Finally it is finished!
I named this short sleeved sweater "Basel" and it was knitted following the instructions for Pattern # 37 from the Vogue Knitting Fall 2006 issue. I used a different type of yarn, one that I found in Basel, Switzerland last Fall 2006 (400gr). It is a 75% Polyacrylic 25% Mohair blend that has a wonderful feel and easy to knit with such pattern. Eventhough the short sleeved cowl pattern is quite easy I liked that I was able to learn a new technique with it, the previously mentioned "Wrap & Turn" tecnique which added a beautiful flow to the sexy deep cowl. Don't you think it would look great worn with a pair of jeans and boots?

I look forward to wearing both of them this Fall/ Winter season!

See you soon!

A New Season and a New Technique.

2007-09-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

Autumn, my favourite season of the year. A time when the soft sunlight reminds me that the end of the year is close but there is still time to achieve some goals. This season also puts me in a particular state of mind that brings fond memories back. I feel lucky that the rainy season in Mexico City has still allowed the sun to come out for my enjoyment!

To celebrate the season I am almost done knitting a short sleeved sweater that is a clear reminder of autumn, not only because of its colors but because I bought the yarn during autumn '06 in beautiful Switzerland. When I am done knitting it I will explain a bit more about the project. Anyway, just when I am about to finish it I encountered a new technique, one that in my many years of knitting had never heard of before: "Wrap and Turn". Interesting technique I should say, one that will allow the cowl collar not to become stiff when I bind the stitches off and will add a soft edge to my project. Check out http://www.knitty.com/ for a clear instruction on how to achieve great results with it.
Here is a picture of my almost-done project (hopefully tonight!).........

.....and of my basil plants I got as a gift from my aunt this weekend. They are also enjoying the autumn sun like me. BTW have I ever mentioned that basil is not at all an ingredient used in mexican cooking? Yes, mexican cuisine, with its wide variety of spices and herbs does not include basil (!!)

See you soon!

Here I go again...

2007-09-12T16:20:00.000-07:00

Hello again dear Blog!
It has been nearly impossible to properly startup my blog as I have been so busy with work and stuff. Still, it is my wish to start posting messages, pictures, etc. to make this a fun and interesting blog.
I know I started writing in spanish but being english the most used language in internet I guess I will keep on posting mostly in english. No problem.
For those who do not understand spanish "Hebras y Madejas" stands for "Threads & Skeins" the two things I love the most to work with.......besides food!

See you in a bit,

Marie.

De Estreno.

2007-01-30T14:28:00.000-08:00

Ya corté el listón y empiezo a darle vida a este espacio.
¡Bienvenidos a todos los que lo visiten!