I'm in this head place where I'm longing for things that are
real. I'm considering more carefully before buying. I'm asking myself:
would this last in a tiny cabin, miles from electricity? Where did this come from, and what's it's future? I'm making subtle switches. Hardcover books, not digital words. Oil lamps, not light bulbs. Mason jars, not plastic tubs. Flour sacks, not paper towels.
And my latest obsession: hearty bread and sturdy wool.
I'm in love with
Shelter, Jared Flood's 100% American wool yarn. To say that I actually teared up when I unwound the first skein and found a blade of grass amongst the fibers is not an exaggeration.
Shelter starts with beautiful, shaggy Wyoming sheep and ends spinning through a historic mill in New Hampshire.
Go take a look-see. It's American and it feels so... real, somehow. Like something Ma Ingalls would have knit if she had her pick of any yarn on the prairie.
It's that amazing.
I put it down only long enough to plan my next loaves of pumpernickel rye bread. Last year I ate many a meal with this bread, only instead of growing tired of it, I've grown to love it more. It feels...
real... to my kneading hands and hungry stomach. I like
this recipe best so far, although I've adapted it for my own tastes. I feel a completed recipe coming soon.
Bread and wool talk, to be continued...
http://brooklyntweed.net
ReplyDeletehere's the link to their site as I'm sure many will want to visit. Lovely colours, lovely yarn ... now if only I was a knitter.
How's that chocolate sweetness M. Milie ?
cheers, Susan & les Gang
I love pumpernickel bread and would love to have your recipe, it looks delish!
ReplyDeleteYou're headed in the right direction, my friend. Back to the basics! Your post reminded me of the Christmas that we lived 5 hours from here but still owned a house here. The weather was horrible - impossible to drive in the snow and ice at times. My sweetheart headed this way to take care of some things on the house for our renters and the kids and I stayed home. The plan was for him to come get us the day before Christmas and bring us back up here to Grandma and Grandpa's house. When the weather didn't allow him to come home or the kids and I to drive up here, I had pretty unhappy, disappointed children. The solution? We pretended we were neighbors to the Ingalls family and Pa was out hunting the Christmas turkey. We did all kinds of things until his return in the wee hours of Christmas morning. A few hours after his return we all headed north again to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Oh, the joy of doing things the old-fashioned way. The simple way. Enjoy your yarn and let us see what you make!
ReplyDelete~Adrienne~
I started having those same kind of "real" thoughts too, several years ago when I decided to back out of the professional and political rat race. Now it bothers me how many products I used once just to throw away, like paper towels. I still use disposable products like that but I'm much more conservative with things. The wool is lovely. Still wish I were a knitter. And thanks for sharing the bread recipe. I love a good pumpernickle.
ReplyDeleteI am a rug hooker and hook with wool strips but when I bind a rug I will use that wool yard. I am going to try your bread I have been making bread most weekends in my bread machine but miss the feel of dough. Very lovely things.
ReplyDeleteCathy
I hear you. A couple years ago we got an unexpected 3 feet of snow all at once. We normally get like 3 inches over a few months. The entire town shut down, the airport shut down, no one could get anything or go anywhere. When we did make it to the store, the shelves had little signs saying "sorry, we are out of eggs...no, we don't know when we will be getting more." It was enough to shock my husband and I into realizing the fragile state of our lives. Self-sufficiency and "real" things have been our focus every since. Amazingly, it has made our relationship so much healthier and happier as well!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck to you in your pursuits.