tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38214980289455291922024-03-05T23:51:45.688+11:00by hook or by cookshalini akhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09147137843941295156noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821498028945529192.post-61345667741701723062015-07-07T13:51:00.000+10:002015-07-07T13:51:19.433+10:00Turning your Work - IRLI blame it all on my husband. If he hadn't decided to change careers four years ago, I might never have made my own move. But watching him return to full time study for the first time since his teens, seeing him really sink his teeth into a new vocation and do well at it, and then witnessing his satisfaction (and yes, exhaustion) in his new occupation, made me start questioning my happiness in my own. Fortunately, the stars aligned, and aided by a firm nudge from both him and my friends, I started on a new path of my own. I'm currently one-third of the way through qualifying to become a high-school English and Humanities teacher.<br />
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I'd always had the idea of teaching in the back of my mind - it was something I thought I'd look into 'later on'. I'm glad I didn't wait any longer - the past six months have likely been the most challenging and rewarding of my life so far, and I've done some pretty challenging things. It's been like learning a whole new language, learning to re-wire my brain, and learning to listen and observe and be present in a way I'd never thought about before. Needless to say, it's also been the most exhausting six months of my life, too. </div>
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During semester, I've been trying to keep my hand on the hook as often as I could, even though sometimes I'd feel guilty about it - but the husband stepped in and quashed that hyper-critical inner voice of mine and reminded me it was all about balance. So I still managed to fit in episodes of MKR and MasterChef whilst crocheting a granny stripe blanket in the summer holiday shades of browns, greens and blues. I like how the blanket is getting heavier and heavier the bigger it gets, and how it's now big enough to keep me warm while I add to it, stripe by stripe.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1mvxsCefO4WTVSaV6nSRIgPbFTc5wc5WxFxE0rZx6Ou1lngESpNYF40nshzGuE2kVtRfPYVYMZu5TpSePec0q-1mVglw4rPIscC14jF0ObdqoUR3fLoJ-tG7R3TnGkg0anXO1ZYqvYo/s1600/Seaside_Stripe.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1mvxsCefO4WTVSaV6nSRIgPbFTc5wc5WxFxE0rZx6Ou1lngESpNYF40nshzGuE2kVtRfPYVYMZu5TpSePec0q-1mVglw4rPIscC14jF0ObdqoUR3fLoJ-tG7R3TnGkg0anXO1ZYqvYo/s400/Seaside_Stripe.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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I also had Craft Camp to look forward to, booked in for the first weekend of holidays; even though that was weeks ago now, it still warms me to think about it - two whole days of crafty creativeness with nine lovely ladies, in a cosy country cottage built just for getaways of the type. All day and most of the night spent practising old and learning new crafts, making new friends, laughing, sipping tea and wine and swapping stories. It was so good, I had to force myself to go to bed and get some sleep. But who needs sleep when there's so much fun to be had, right?<br />
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I had wanted to try making little crochet skulls - there's a <a href="https://kristinskrazyknits.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/day-of-the-dead-skull-motif/" target="_blank">pattern for a day of the dead skull motif</a> I'd had my eye on for a while. My first couple of attempts were fit only for the grave, but I soon had the pattern down - though it wasn't long before I started planning tweaks to the pattern. This resulted, of course, in me obsessively going over and over the pattern till I got something more aligned with the picture in my head. So I went from this:<br />
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to this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio7QakJocj0CRaA6EvlDIwA1qkgji3eeOvPH0DF6Vxdtv8RYKdEk6TUN4mTloVVWB-s4tDZLNMtbZw8nrDBxg5sJ724b4a1wEv1hosrapvK1UHUkHgKgGeMyP1H3wLTifrFauvkPWweM4/s1600/Skull-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio7QakJocj0CRaA6EvlDIwA1qkgji3eeOvPH0DF6Vxdtv8RYKdEk6TUN4mTloVVWB-s4tDZLNMtbZw8nrDBxg5sJ724b4a1wEv1hosrapvK1UHUkHgKgGeMyP1H3wLTifrFauvkPWweM4/s320/Skull-2.png" width="255" /></a></div>
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Even though the second skull looks a little like a storm trooper, I like the way it's rounded and has more height at the top, and the fact that it has cheekbones and jaw bones. I'm still playing around with the pattern, but once it's done I'm going to try and write it down - maybe it'll be my first contribution to Ravelry.</div>
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I'm off to watch Netflix and crochet on the couch. A week and a bit of holidays left before we jump back in to study, and I plan to hook my way through as much of it as I can.</div>
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shalini akhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09147137843941295156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821498028945529192.post-3027799553633448982014-04-27T16:52:00.002+10:002014-04-27T16:53:26.595+10:00Gingerly into AutumnThe weather is turning here - there's a definite crispness creeping in, and though it's lovely and warm in the sun (when it's out), a passing cloud or a patch of shadow elicits an audible 'brrr!' and a quickening of step. It's time to break out the flannellette sheets, time to switch back to the slow cook. It's most definitely baking weather.<br />
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I've not baked for a while, and this weekend I compensated for it; a surprise petit apple pie on Saturday, and a batch of chewy ginger cookies on Sunday. The pie was a surprise in that there was some shortcrust pastry in the fridge, leftover from my last pie caper, and a bundle of granny smiths in the fruit bowl. I decided at dinner prep time that we'd have apple pie for dessert, so some chopping, rolling, freezing, and baking later - surprise! Apple pie!<br />
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The ginger cookies had been in the back of my mind for a while, and today I decided they'd come to be. </div>
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I found a gorgeous looking recipe at <a href="http://www.forkknifeswoon.com/food-drink/desserts/2013/12/chewy-ginger-cookies/" target="_blank">fork knife swoon</a>, and set about tweaking it to my particular taste and pantry. I wanted the ginger to really shine, so I added a handful of minced <a href="http://www.buderimginger.com/products/naked-ginger-200g" target="_blank">Buderim Naked Ginger</a> pieces to the mix to add kick. I subbed the molasses for golden syrup, because that's what I had in the panrty; and as for the spices, I omitted the clove because I felt like it. </div>
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The finished cookies are just as they should be - sparkly and crackled on the outside, chewy and soft within, maintaining a warm glow long after the oven's cooled. A pair of these would be lovely clamped around a scoop of good vanilla ice cream (and what doesn't go with good vanilla ice cream?); as lovely as they are, I'm sure, with a cup of lady grey, as I happen to be having them now.</div>
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shalini akhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09147137843941295156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821498028945529192.post-2521308629051074012014-01-28T11:18:00.001+11:002014-01-28T11:22:04.610+11:00Tart with a heart.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I'm often asked to bring desserts when there's a family gathering happening, and I'm always happy to oblige. It gives me an excuse to scour google for something luscious, or go back to tried-and-true crowd pleasers. Otherwise, desserts can be dangerous in this house - just us two, plus one huge cheesecake (or equivaent) in the fridge can take on the look of a grim challenge by day three. So, having a guaranteed flock of mouths to feed is my insurance, and gives me carte blanche to whip up something decidedly decadent.</div>
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This past weekend, we went away with some friends to the beautiful <a href="http://www.ellishouse.com.au/" target="_blank">Ellis House</a>, and I volunteered to make dessert. Taking into account the levels of indulgence we'd likely soar to over the weekend, I decided to make something light, tart, and full of antioxidants - a fruity galette. </div>
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Its rustic, freeform spirit just seemed to suit a weekend away in the country.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqnOc9a2cf2VmwStDPmmnyEQAeM339lxOIvH289CqzhMegvZkWXwHkBrSJLCCeAmDOe7nwX8cAK3evgxgty-H8puMA2yVJFgGm16jQ91rZvfSKx2EAL3UI5qL6_3V3WSHJb27EsUQsfxg/s1600/tart+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqnOc9a2cf2VmwStDPmmnyEQAeM339lxOIvH289CqzhMegvZkWXwHkBrSJLCCeAmDOe7nwX8cAK3evgxgty-H8puMA2yVJFgGm16jQ91rZvfSKx2EAL3UI5qL6_3V3WSHJb27EsUQsfxg/s1600/tart+1.jpg" height="125" width="400" /></a></div>
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I adapted the <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/plum-galette" target="_blank">Plum Galette recipe from Food & Wine</a>, with the following changes: for the filling, I used 5 tablespoons of almond meal, and added the seeds of one vanilla bean; for the fruit, I used around one dozen plums, a bowlful of cherries, and a punnet of blueberries; and instead of sprinkling on third cup of sugar over the fruit and the edges of the rolled-over pastry, I used barely half that amount. And I didn't dot butter over the top, because I forgot to.<br />
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I also omitted the jam glaze at the end, because I just didn't think it needed it. Served with generous dollops of double cream, this tart provided a memorably zingy end to a lovely evening.<br />
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You could pretty much use any fruit in season to fill a galette. The drive home through winding country roads was spent dreaming up new combinations - banana and brown sugar, with a squeeze of lime? apple? pear? apple and pear? - though I'd love to do one with just morello cherries and cinnamon. Pumpkin would be nice, even.</div>
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The best part? There was just enough left for the two of us to share when we got back home. </div>
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<br />shalini akhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09147137843941295156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821498028945529192.post-32584310818743587542014-01-21T15:54:00.001+11:002014-01-21T15:54:35.884+11:00Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside...I did think of waiting for the weekend to pass and posting an update after the 29th so I could pretend that no, a whole year had not passed since I last blogged. But the urge struck, and I thought, best to just go with it. So here I am, going with it.<br />
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I've just returned from two weeks by the sea. I spent some happy, squinty hours on the beach, watching the dumpy surf pick up my niece and nephew, sometimes tackling them, engulfed in a swirl of foam and sand, sometimes swelling up under their tiny bodies and boogie boards to deliver them, shrieking with delight, all the way to the shore. My youngest nephew, too little to tackle the surf on his own, was content <i>dig-dig-digging</i> the damp sand, and diving chest-first into single-bucket sandcastles as quickly as we could unmould them.<br />
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We found a flatter beach on the second-last day, and even though it was going to be a scorcher, the possibility of close encounters with local sea-dwellers had us camped on the narrow beach before midday. Wading out to hip-depth, I watched as my husband attempted a swim to the sandbar out ahead of us; the flatness on top of the water concealed a current. I watched as he drifted further and further to the right, then out of my field of vision. I quelled the predictable panic, and seconds later he appeared at the top of the stairs we'd used earlier to access the beach; "That undertow is strong!"<br />
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I love the different shades of blue the seaside showcases. At the dumpy beach, the waves rising and cresting in the distance took on an opaque opal brightness just before they crashed into froth; bands of teal and aqua and ultramarine between there and me till the swirl of muddy brown at my feet, retreating to crystal-clear, anchoring me deeper and deeper into the wet sand till I'm happily stuck, watching schools of fish dart back out to deeper water, invisible but for their sleek shadows.<br />
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The flat beach offered moodier tones than the dumpy one, starting off clear and descending quickly into inky-blue darkness. I watched neat clumps of seaweed glide past under the surface, sailing neatly around our legs as if steered, little islands on the move to somewhere specific. The small beach, empty but for the two of us and a young family of four, was the perfect contrast of brisk water and scorching sand. As we stood side by side, looking out to the patch of black where the sea floor dropped away, a strange thing happened. A piece of the blackness separated from the rest; a patch the size of our dining table. It broke away and began slowly, deliberately gliding toward us. This was not the shadow of a kite; it was a local resident. A stingray. We followed in awe as it glided past us, and away.<br />
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Apparently stingrays are quite common in the area, though I still feel little glow when I think about it. Like I've been let in on some sort of secret.<br />
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<br />shalini akhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09147137843941295156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821498028945529192.post-48792919988031816502013-01-29T13:20:00.001+11:002013-01-29T13:20:59.281+11:00Wake, bake, blog.That was the drill this morning. As I eased myself into productive wakefulness, the hint of baking wafted into my mind like the smell itself. Gentle, sweet, slowly intensifying - till all there is to do is haul yourself out of bed and head to the kitchen.<br />
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Lucky I have the perfect muffin recipe at hand - again, I have Nigella to thank for it. But how could I not keep going back to it? It's so versatile, and I've made it even more user-friendly by lowering the sugar content, and replacing the sour cream with greek yoghurt - something I always have in my fridge.<br />
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As for the fruits - I've made these muffins as per the recipe several times, and again at least as many, experimenting with the fruit and flavour combinations. She calls for pear and ginger; I've done apple and cinnamon, blueberry and cinnamon, pear and chocolate - and right now, the aromas of pineapple and coconut are creeping into the very corners of my house. Tropical and summery - and let me assure you, a pineapple half purchased for a dollar from the bargain table at your local greengrocers smells just as sweet.<br />
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<b>Nigella's Pear and Ginger Muffins (with my changes in brackets)</b><br />
<i>Dry ingredients:</i><br />
250g plain flour<br />
2 teasp baking powder<br />
150g caster sugar (I use raw caster sugar)<br />
75g light brown sugar, plus extra for sprinkling (I omit this entirely)<br />
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<i>Wet ingredients:</i><br />
142ml sour cream (I use greek yoghurt)<br />
125ml vegetable oil<br />
2 eggs<br />
1 tbsp honey<br />
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<i>Fruit:</i><br />
300g chopped pear (or any other fruit equivalent)<br />
1 teasp ground ginger (or other flavour/spice to match your fruit)<br />
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Method:<br />
Preheat oven to 200C, and line 12 cup muffin pan with papers or cases.<br />
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Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl; mix all wet ingredients in another bowl; then fold wet ingredients through dry ingredients.<br />
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Add fruit to mixture and fold through.<br />
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Divide evenly into patty cases; if desired, sprinkle tops with a little raw sugar to give some crunch when baked.<br />
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Bake for 20 minutes.<br />
Congratulate yourself.<br />
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<br />shalini akhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09147137843941295156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821498028945529192.post-44458003745871976072012-05-31T17:05:00.001+10:002012-05-31T17:05:23.846+10:00Dark times call for These MeasuresAs a child I was afraid of the dark. Back in the days when I shared a bedroom with one of my brothers (he in the top bunk, me in the bottom), I remember pleading with him after lights-out to 'stay up half night'. After lengthy whispered conversations in which he would try and make me understand that he just couldn't do that, we found a compromise; he would dangle his arm off the side of his bunk, and I would reach up and hold it. This solution was none too practical for either of us. I progressed to taking comfort from the sight of his dangled arm till eventually, I didn't need the reassurance any more.<br />
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These days, darkness makes me think of other things. Mystery. Saturation. Depression. Shadows.<br />
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Chocolate.<br />
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I'm sure there was a time when I liked milk chocolate; even now I sometimes crave the mouth-coating sweetness of white, not-really-chocolate-at-all chocolate. Case in point: a white chocolate Lindor ball. Exhibit 2: Green & Black's organic white chocolate.<br />
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But we're not talking about lightness here. We're talking about dark. And now, in the first of my 'cook' posts, I will share with you my all-time favourite Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake recipe. I've adapted this from my little Womens Weekly chocolate cakes recipe book (<a href="http://www.australian-womens-weekly.com/page/lowfat-chocolate-fudge-cake" target="_blank">original recipe here</a>). I love this recipe because it has no butter in it, but it produces the deepest, darkest cake with a beautifully dense crumb. It's not a mud cake, but it's not airy either. When I get an intense chocolate craving, I make this; when I take that first bite, I wonder why I ever even bother looking at other chocolate cake recipes at all. I have tweaked the eggs - instead of using 2 yolks and 4 whites, I use three of each - no muss, no fuss.<br />
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<b>No-Butter Dark Chocolate Fudge cake </b><br />
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85g dark eating chocolate (I use the 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips I bought in bulk from from Costco. They lasted a while, but they're all gone now. I miss them.)<br />50g cocoa powder<br />200g firmly packed brown sugar<br />125ml boiling water<br />3 egg yolks<br />30g ground almond<br />50g wholemeal plain flour<br />3 egg whites<br />
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Preheat oven to moderate (180-190 degrees C). Line base and side of deep 20cm round cake pan with baking paper.<br />
<br />Combine chocolate, cocoa and sugar with the water in large bowl; stir until smooth. Add egg yolks; whisk to combine. Fold in ground almond and flour.<br />
<br />Beat egg whites in small bowl, with electric mixer or by hand, until firm peaks form.<br />
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Gently add egg white mixture into chocolate mixture, in two batches; pour into prepared pan.<br />
<br />Bake in moderate oven about 40 minutes. Stand in pan 5 minutes. Turn onto wire rack; remove paper. Savour.<br />
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You'll never bake another chocolate cake again.<br />
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<br />shalini akhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09147137843941295156noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821498028945529192.post-22262396354733560952012-05-18T11:02:00.002+10:002012-05-23T13:48:39.521+10:00Crochet: what's not to get?Anyone who knows me, knows I love Nigella - though that love took a test the time I watching the one where she punches a hole in an apple and pops a tea-light candle into it. It wasn't the waste of a perfectly good Granny Smith that got me going; it the throwaway remark that followed. She said that this was about as crafty as she was ever likely to get, before a request to the effect of 'kill me if I ever start crocheting'. Well! After all the time I'd spent defending her talents to non-believers, you can imagine my surprise etc etc. I may have hit the pause button as a time out and had some harsh words with her that night.<br />
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I can understand how some people might not get Nigella. But <a href="http://sarahlondon.wordpress.com/hawaiian-flowers/" target="_blank">crochet</a>? <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dinasnest/4236494813/" target="_blank">What's</a> <a href="http://flickeflu.com/photos/49235589@N06" target="_blank">not to</a> <a href="http://aboutmoandme.blogspot.com.au/2010/06/finished-that-project.html" target="_blank">get</a> <a href="http://emmallamb.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/wall-flowers.html" target="_blank">about</a> <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/112941903125124194/" target="_blank">crochet</a>?<br />
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Yes, I know I've already owned up to the fact that I wasn't always mad about it myself, but let me put my former indifference into context:<br />
1) I was a child<br />
2) I was also a tom-boy, and<br />
3) Everyone seemed to only use threads that sat somewhere in the colour spectrum between white and beige.<br />
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My recent relapse into to world of crochet happened via a very good friend of mine, Fran at <a _blank"="" href="http://wishthimble.blogspot.com.au/%20target=">wishthimble</a>. I had always known Fran to be a crafter, and even though I have always owned a sewing machine (having one within reach makes me feel safe in a strange way), I've never really used it for more than repairing jeans and making costumes to wear to parties. I always admired Fran for her interest in crafting in all its forms, and envied her awesome crafting room at the bottom of her lovely courtyard.<br />
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Then one day, Fran introduced me to <a href="http://attic24.typepad.com/" target="_blank">Attic24</a>. The rest is history.<br />
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I've got a couple of ideas on the boil at the moment, which will lead up to me opening an Etsy store. Here are some projects I've made to date:<br />
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A granny-square blanket for my niece: </div>
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A name wall hanging for the same niece:</div>
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A rainbow ripple baby blanket for a friend (also used as a background for this blog):</div>
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I'm sure you can understand now why I'm loving crochet again. It's the ultimate in lo-fi instant gratification, and it makes me happy. </div>
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What makes you happy? </div>shalini akhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09147137843941295156noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821498028945529192.post-61793089132691033522012-05-14T17:43:00.001+10:002012-05-23T13:49:46.110+10:00Happiness, by hook or by cookOf all the things in the world that (currently) make me happy, the two things I love most? <br />
Crochet and cooking. Happiness, by hook or by cook.<br />
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I say ‘currently’ because either activity hasn’t always inspired joy.<br />
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I was introduced to crochet when I was a child. My cousin showed me how to hold the hook, how to twirl the thread around my fingers; how to hook the plain thread in and out to transform it into a length of perfect chain links. Then more magic moves made loops and circles, diamonds and pineapples, the possibilities were endless… until I lost interest.<br />
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Cooking was something I was protected from till my early teens. My mother shielded me from most forms of housework despite the frowns and tut-tutting of her six sisters. <i>She’ll have to do that stuff for the rest of her life</i>, she’d tell them calmly, <i>so she might as well enjoy herself now</i>. I was never destined to be a Junior Masterchef contender, but that was fine by me – I grew up without television, anyway.<br />
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I’m lucky to have been blessed with a mother who is a whizz in the kitchen; while I may not have been cooking as a youngster, watching her cook meant I was definitely not afraid of it. She began teaching me to cook in my early teens. We started gently with milky stove-top chai, then progressed to her charging me with regular cooking tasks, like making the rotis for the family’s breakfast and lunch every weekday morning. Once I started, I loved being in the kitchen – especially since mum’s minimal-housework rules meant I didn’t have to do the cleaning up most of the time.<br />
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My love of cooking has endured over the years, waxing and waning like the moon – always there, but sometimes burning more brightly and brilliantly than others. I have a dishwasher in my kitchen now. It eases the pain.<br />
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Crochet, on the other hand, was buried under layers and layers of life until quite recently. Those lessons provided by my cousin lay dormant within me like a late-flowering, long-forgotten bulb. They’ve been slowly pushing up toward the sun since then, the first green tips just now breaking the soil, making me curious to see what blossom will follow. They are all different, and they are bright and gorgeous, and they just keep on coming.<br />
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I wonder though - does this mean I’ve entered the Autumn of my life..? Meh - who cares. I’m enjoying myself too much to worry :)shalini akhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09147137843941295156noreply@blogger.com2