Our next Rug Makers Get Together at Loch

Hello fellow Rug Makers of Victoria
Our next meeting is nearly here again. Doesn't time just fly? Instead of the first week, it is the second Saturday of September for this, and the following month of October. So that is, the 14th September at Chris' home in Loch, in beautiful South Gippsland, and the 12th Oct at Anne's home in beautiful Warrandyte.
All are warmly welcomed.
If you have always wanted to try your hand at this wonderful old craft then now is your chance. Experienced people are at hand to give you a start and all for free. We help and encourage each other. Just bring your frame, hook and project to work on. If you don't have a project we can help you get some materials and a pattern to start on. Email us at this email address for more information. victorianrugmakers@gmail.com
Hope to see you there.
Blessings
Chris

Chicken or Pork Congee Soup... Yeeum!

I've been promising to put our recipe for this delicious soup up, for ages. Picture to follow, sorry. Have to make some first.

 

To make the soup, firstly you need to make our Amazing Chicken Stock:

• Skin a chicken (cook skin for the Magpies if you want), more than fill with cold water.
• Add: chopped or shredded or grated: onion (brown with skin) / carrot / good hunk of ginger / celery / garlic / whatever.
• Teaspoon-ish: turmeric / mango powder / fenugreek seeds. 1 cinnamon stick / few green cardamom / coupla black cardamom / few cloves / maybe some curry powder.
• The husband adds a tablespoon of soy sauce and a bit of fish sauce but I don't. I've not done the taste test to see if it shows up.
• When your concoction begins to boil, turn to a good simmer for exactly 25 minutes.
• Remove chicken and de-bone as soon as it's cool enough.
• Return bones and simmer for between 1 and 4 hours depending on the book you've read on the topic. We usually let it go for at least two.
• Eat the most delicious chicken you'll have tasted in a long while, with a bit of soy, in sandwiches / salads / stir fry's etc.

Strain after the further time and decant to use for the soup and for all of your cooking. We do this every week, so our cooking has that extra flavour from the start. The magpies see me at the bus stop and fly off to our house because they know the hubby will be up for their breakfast.

 

Congee Soup

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• garlic, crushed or finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely cut
• about 300g of minced pork
• 2 litres of your stock
• 2-3 inches of grated ginger (a good amount)
• 1 small chilli, 1/2 if it's hot
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3/4 cup rice
• 2 dessertspoons white sugar
• 2 leaves of sage
• lemon or lime juice
• spring onions

Method:

• Saute onions until brown
• add ginger and garlic and brown
• add mince and mash about until browned and separated
• add everything else and stir in for half a minute
• add stock lastly, stir to get the goody's off the bottom

Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with half a lemon or lime squeezed on top, and some spring onions. 

 

 

    

My One Trues Preliminary Sketch For His Bed-side Rug

All worked out with the Golden Mean, of course (ha ha ha). The Aussie crest, and the Eureka Flag.
My great-great-great John Smith was at Eureka.

We'll stick a bit of wattle in the middle somewhere.

'Here's the mighty wattle

The emblem of our land

You can stick it in a bottle

Or hold it in your hand.' (Barry Humphries)

Notice where he plonked Tassie.
I will do it Magdelena Briner Eby style, unless he has other plans for me, which is very possible. I thought this would be good to have on the go, for when I don't want to be too fussy. Country job... although that's an in joke around here because we always end up being fussy.
The whole idea was to use up bits and pieces I've changed my mind about using on the Uzbekistan Rug, but I can't see those colours working here...

Joy's 'Glimmers Of Hope'

Glimmers of Hope is my first rug using a linen backing and is approximately 4 feet long and 1.5 feet wide.
It uses recycled hand dyed blanketing and is my own design. The image is a graphic representation of a phrase I woke up with in my head one morning a few years ago. "Glimmers of hope pierced the gloom". I then finished it with "like stars in the night sky".

After Googling this phrase, with no results, I can only put it down to inspiration.

I have long admired Van Gogh's work and this piece is strongly reflective of Starry Sky. After the recent loss of my youngest son, this rug brought together the hope I have in God's love that shines in the darkness of grief, Starry Night, and a hankering to try a design with cats paws.

...here and there glimmers of hope pierce the gloom...

Hubby Rug

I have finally got around to working on my hubby rug again. Since the last stage I have started on his shirt and on the background. I had to dye a special blue/grey for the shirt. I just boiled different shades of blues and some dark grey together to remove some of the dye. I then added some blue and black together and added that as well, adding one piece of wool back in at the time. The darkest first and the lightest when there was very little dye left in the pot. It worked out well. / I am quite happy with the colour of the background also. It is black and antique black/green. Lots more to do, but hopefully it will be finished by the end of October for the Stitches and Craft show.
I am also working on my Love Rug; one more picture to go, but I'll post that when it's off the frame as it takes too much to sew it back on. Happy hooking :))

Grrr...!

Lucky the husband is being nice. Although if he says one more time that I ought to have done a few preliminary drawings, I may have to frighten HIM. Boys always have a solution that would be helpful IF I WAS ASKING FOR ONE!
With all of my vast experience in colour and tone, and with years of teaching how to find your pleasing group of colours and SO ON... EVERY time I delve into a new medium I don't immediately take the knowledge with me.
So, rather than build a pile of colours that look lovely together at the outset, I have followed wrong thinking and ended up with a big pile of... Mud!
I love each and every colour. The tans are just completely gorgeous, and so I enjoy every stitch/hook. I'm immersed in the beauty of the textile and the joy of fibre. Likewise the greens. Yeeuum!
I could go on.
So, note from every class I have taught in 18 years: Begin with the colours (fabrics) you simply MUST use. Then add others to the pile that make these colours look happy. You might want to have a limited palette... or not, but in everything, these colours must be happy together.

I have just removed the whole of the foliage. I haven't liked it ever but didn't listen.
Starting again. At least the background (a must have) and the flowers are almost completed.

Just About To Remove & Redo The Greens

Well, I may have intended the greens to become a bit obscure and 'hinted at', but it just looks too muddy. So, I'm taking almost all of the green out and redoing it in a stronger shade.

Then, who knows, maybe the tan will look wrong? I think I like the tan.

Definitely obscure, but there... my initials.

It's worth the bother to undo. If this is going to be around forever, then I'll be annoyed forever and I'll cringe when my great-great-grand-daughter's admire my work. Best to fix it now. After all, no-one s making me do this and what's the hurry?