Halloween Handwork
October 31, 2008|Comments (12)
Tipper, of Blind Pig & Acorn, sent me this wonderfully festive crocheted spider web made by Granny. Tipper didn’t know that I’d actually found a pattern for this very web the other week and planned to make it. How about that? Isn’t Tipper amazing? She’s a mind reader, I tell you. Goodness, I’m glad she’s my blogging friend!
Anyway, should you decide that you want to make one of your very own, I’m posting the pattern which I did not create but rather found in one of my aunt’s craft books.
Materials:
size 1.50 mm hook
size 10 thread (black)
Rnd 1: ch 4 ,sl st in first st to form a ring. ch 6 (counts as tr + 2),
*(tr , ch 2) rep from * 15 times, join with sl st to 4th ch of first st.
(16 tr, 16 ch-2 sp)
Rnd 2: ch 7, (counts as first tr + ch 3) , *(tr in next tr, ch 3) rep from * around.
Join with sl st to 4th ch of first st.
Rnd 3: ch 8, (counts as first tr + ch 4) , *(tr in next tr, ch 4) rep from * around.
Join with sl st to 4th ch of first st.
Rnd 4: ch 9, (counts as first tr + ch 5) , *(tr in next tr, ch 5) rep from * around.
Join with sl st to 4th ch of first st.
Rnd 5: ch 10, (counts as first tr + ch 6) , *(tr in next tr, ch 6) rep from * around.
Join with sl st to 4th ch of first st.
Rnd 6: ch 12, (counts as first tr + ch 8 ) , *(sc in next tr, ch 8 ,tr in next tr, ch 8 )
rep from * 7 times, sc in next tr, ch 8. Join with sl st to 4th ch of first tr.
Fasten off.
Web
Materials:
Starch according to instructions on craft starch making sure to pull the tr in
Rnd 6 to a point to make the outer web shape.
Spider
Materials:
Body
small amount sportweight cotton (black)
hook 2.50 mm
DO NOT JOIN RNDS UNLESS INDICTED.
MARK ENDS OF RNDS WITH MARKER.
dec: decrease - (insert hook in next st, yo, pull through st) 2 times,
yo pull through all 3 lps on hook.
Rnd 1:ch 2, work 4 sc in second ch from hook, place marker.
Rnd 2: work 2 sc in each st around, place marker. (8 sts)
Rnd 3: work 2 sc in first st, sc in next st, *(2 sc in next st,
sc in next st) rep from * around, place marker. (12 sts)
Rnd 4: 2 sc in first st, sc in next 2 sts, *(2 sc in next st, sc in next
2 sts.) rep from * around , place marker.(16)
Rnd 5: sc in each st around, place marker.(16 sts)
Rnd 6: (dec, sc in next 2 sts) rep from * around, place marker.
Rnd 7: (dec) around, break thread leaving an 8″ tail.
Place a small amount of stuffing inside body, weave tail through
remaining sts of Rnd 8 and pull tight. Weave in ends.
Legs
Materials:
Black pipe cleaners
Glue Gun
Cut 8 legs by cutting black pipe cleaners into 2 ” lengths.
Glue to body (4 on each side).making sure to bend them into the
shape of a spider’s legs.
Finishing
Attach spider with small amount of glue to web. Or not. Whatever you want to do. Have fun but most of all — have a happy Halloween!
Want to see more totally cool craft activities? Check out all of our craft posts at RazorFamilyFarms.com/crafts and find out everything from how to darn your socks to how on earth you render fat to make soap. Or if you just want to watch someone else do it… that’s okay, too. 
Cardamom Bread, Sweet and Rustic
October 31, 2008|Comments (25)
Bread is my weakness. It calls to me in the night and from the rooftops. Our love is a real and tangible thing. Thankfully, I am not the only one to fall for the steamy fragrant delicious stuff. My darling husband, light of my life, has also fallen into its spongy clutches. I fear that I am partly to blame. **tsk tsk**
Cardamom, a must-have in any Nordic bread, is one of my favorite spices which I learned to use while living in Washington state in Lutheran country (lots of people with Nordic origins there). Prior to moving there, I used cardamom only in curries and sometimes apple pie. Oh, how much I missed!
Now, I will share my favorite cardamom-containing bread recipe but it’s a secret, so don’t tell anyone.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Tbsp instant yeast
- 4 cups flour
- 11/4 cups lukewarm milk or water
- 3/4 cup melted butter or oil
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
1.) Mix flour, yeast, and cardamom in your mixing bowl. Set aside. Eat some Halloween candy. You deserve a reward.
2.) Heat milk and stir in sugar until dissolved. I like to do this in a 4 cup glass measuring cup but do whatever makes you feel like dancing.
3.) Add the milk and sugar to the flour mixture. Add 1/2 cup melted butter or oil, too. Mix on low (if you are using a mixer) until a nice sticky dough forms.
4.) Change out the mixer blade and use a dough hook. Knead for a few minutes and then stop. Let the dough rest for about 20 minutes with a light cover over it (I use a plate and just stick it over the top of the mixing bowl). This is called autolyse (sounds like auto-lease) and is nap time for the dough during which the gluten relaxes and absorbs moisture.
5.) During the autolyse, I wash the dishes and paint my baking pan with rest of the melted butter (or oil). When the twenty minutes is up, begin kneading again and knead in the salt.
6.) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into three equal parts. Let them rise for about 30-45 minutes. Roll the dough balls into ropes and braid them on the greased baking pan. Tuck the ends of the braid under. Sneak another piece of candy. I won’t tell.
7.) Preheat oven 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush the braided loaf with egg and sprinkle it with sugar. Bake until golden brown (about 30 minutes).
Need more recipes? Of course you do. Check out The Very Best of Our Site for a complete listing of the cool stuff on this site. Oh, and for goodness sake, hide those candy wrappers before someone sees!
A Ghost Story
October 31, 2008|Comments (15)
Having grown up in Virginia, I heard many stories about houses which hosted ghosts of Civil War soldiers, slaves, star-crossed lovers, lonely widows, and countless others. I became immune to the tingly feeling that washes over a person when they hear a particularly eerie ghost story. Perhaps that is why I can only remember one ghost story and to this day it gives me chills. Not scary chills but “wow, that could actually happen” chills. Today seemed the right day to tell the story.
In the early seventies, a family of five moved from a tiny house in Baltimore down to a house outside of Williamsburg built in the 1700s. The house, which sat on the far corner of a large field, was quite a grand home in its day and had the architectural skeleton to prove it.
Upon entering the home, there was a grand staircase which overlooked a large room. Each room had a fireplace, wallpaper that was utterly hideous, stained carpeting reaching from wall to wall, and the original fixtures which had been converted into electric chandeliers. The house needed a new roof, updated appliances (appliances at all), replacement windows, and a world of other time-consuming fixes which are typical of a house that old that sat empty for so many years. While their parents set to work on the home, the three children were permitted to explore without interference until mealtimes.
On a particularly lovely summer day, the mother called the children for lunch and the children began scooting down the staircase on their backsides. As they made their way down the first few steps, they were even with the ceiling of the great room and the converted chandelier only this time they noticed that wax candles were lit in place of the plastic tubes and flame-shaped electric bulbs. The children began to hear music and the quiet roar of a crowd. As they peered between the stair rails, they could scarcely believe their eyes.
Where the ugly stained carpet had been moments before there were now shiny marble floors and dancing couples in jackets with tails and dresses with lots of skirts. Musicians were set up in the far corner of the room. The walls were painted with elegant green and gold columns with golden crests. The children pressed their faces into the rails to watch but soon feared that they would catch the attention of the strangers and began quietly scooting back up the steps until they were seated at the very top step. They could still see the flicker of light from the many candles as they all fell asleep.
A while later, the mother and father came out of the kitchen to call for the children who had failed to report for their meal. The children awoke and made their way down the grand staircase with their eyes searching the great room below in wonder. The chandelier hung with its electric bulbs, the wallpaper showed ugly orange roses and watermarks, and the floors were covered in the unappealing stained carpet. All the children began speaking at once and told their parents about the music, people, columns, floors, and candles. The parents laughed and ushered the children into the kitchen for lunch.
After lunch, the children began investigating and discovered that on the drab carpet beneath the chandelier, there were wax drippings. They showed their parents but the adults were not convinced.
Weeks later, the parents were ready to begin working on the great room. The mother began peeling off the many layers of wallpaper and the husband began rolling back the carpet so that they could refinished the wood floors. As he rolled back the carpet, he discovered marble tile which covered the great room floor and as the mother scraped the dampened wallpaper with a putty knife, she found faded green and gold columns.
This post was inspired by Stacey and Paula. Be sure you check out their ghost stories! Happy Halloween, y’all!
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