Winter in the summer

I know it seems odd, but I'm already gearing up for the holiday season. I have to get my offerings ready now so there's plenty in November and December. So, I'm in shorts and sandals working with polar fleece. Luckily, my sewing area is in my nice cool basement.
I'll be putting out my new Autumn offerings in the next few weeks. Photos of the items will be up soon. Watch this space!

More new items

I've been working on new items for the shop. I just posted the first of the hot water bottle covers. More fabrics coming soon.
There are also new hand warmers, perfect for cheering on your favourite fall or winter team. These are the first ones out of the sewing machine but I haven't been able to hem them yet. Let me know what you think.

My New Craft Space

I haven't posted in quite a while. I've been busy with work and life in general. 

I've been working on my new space, an office for my crafting. Here's what it looked like before I got started and after. It's not done yet but it's so much better.

I'm developing new products in my new space so stay tuned!

Colds and Remedies

Well, my sweetie and I got that nasty summer cold that's going around. So no flavored vinegars again :(    But I did think about what we were doing to combat the nastys. Here is my recipe for a lemon pick me up for those with colds. Its hot in more ways than one.

Hot Lemonade for Colds
1 tbsp Lemon juice
6 oz Boiling water
honey to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Put the lemon juice, Cayenne pepper and honey in the bottom of a mug and pour the hot water over it. stir well and drink.

This is not the most delicious thing you have ever tasted but it cuts through nasal congestion and mucus in the throat very well. Please be cautious with the Cayenne if you are not used to hot foods. Use what seems hot to you. A couple of grains might be just right.

My, it's been a long time!

Well, I'm back. I got a new job after the last post and life just ran away with me. I love my job. It's right up my alley; training, supervising and plenty of Zen computing(that's data entry for the rest of the world). I have a lovely new schedule I work a 4 by 10, 4 days for 10 hours, that's 3 DAYS OFF! the rest of the time, I get to spend with my honey and family, craft, clean the house, and get back to writing this blog. No weekends for me anymore. I'm going to start back developing more tutorials.

Speaking of which, the flavored vinegars are still in the fridge. As soon as I can, I'm going to get them out and finish the tutorial. This is the right time to start drinking some summer drinks like "medieval cool aid".

See you next week!

Medieval Cool Aid

Medieval cool aid is what I have heard sekanjabin called. It is a medieval drink that is still made in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. It is usually made with mint but I wanted to try some with fruit as I have had it at events.  Drinking vinegars are now available in stores but they are easy to make at home with a little time. Small prep times and long wait times are the way I make them. Last week, I started two different ones, cranberry and peach. I had some peaches that weren't getting eaten and I hate to waste food. I also had a large bag of frozen cranberries that I wanted to use up. The photos are of the cranberries. 

The items you will need for the first part of this project are:

Vinegar, not distilled. I used cider vinegar but white or red wine vinegars are fine.

A sealable container. I used a mason jar. I trust the seal and the glass does not react with anything I put into it.

Fruit to fill the container, usually 1 to 2 cups

space in the fridge to put the container for several days.

 Fill the jar with the fruit

 Fill the jar with the vinegar and leave a head space at the top.

 Seal the top and put in the fridge for several days.

I'll post part two later in the week.

Sweet Times in the Kitchen

Making your own simple syrup is easy and fast. Simple syrup is used to sweeten cool beverages like iced tea or coffee, fruity drinks or cocktails. My local coffee shop calls it liquid sugar but I've seen that they get the same effect from the same amount as my syrup.

So here is the recipe:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Put the water and sugar in a saucepan.

Heat over medium high heat until the sugar disolves and the mixture is clear and simmering. 

 Remove from the heat and wait for the mixture to cool. Then put it into a vessel for storage. I use a glass bottle that I cleaned well.

 Label and store in the fridge. I like having my drinks the same temperature when I mix things up.

I love having this available for my iced coffee in the morning. This will keep in the fridge for about two weeks in a closed vessel. I make what I need for that time which for our house is about 700 mL, or double this recipe. That's the amount you see in my 2 quart pan in the photos.

Have a sweet day!

Flowers

I have been obsessed with hair flowers lately. When summer hits I like to take the outdoors with me everywhere. Last week, I convinced my favorite Queen Bee, my awesome sister-in-law, to part with the centerpieces from her wedding. Her price: having a "few" made into pieces for her gorgeous, but long and very thick, hair. I'll post some pics of those as soon as locate findings for them. She didn't like the bobby pins so I have to find another way. But the great part is that I get to use the rest! I spent a couple of happy hours taking the arrangements apart and harvesting the blooms. Now, I have lots of new flowers to create with! I can't get very good pics after dark so I'll post pics after I make something!

First Fire of the Season

The fire pit is an old dryer  tub. It has a lot of air flow,
sometimes too much. 

The great weather yesterday inspired me to get outdoors. We cooked dinner over our first outdoor fire of the season; fresh asparagus and hot italian sausages. I had to jury rig the set up but dinner came out great! We ate with our fingers. Grease everywhere! The asparagus came right out of the garden into the pot. It tasted so green and fresh. I was able to find some my camping cookware and it was even ready to use. It was a success, if how quickly it disappeared was any indication. I am ready for a wonderful summer getting my open fire cooking skills back. It had been years since I cooked anything more than a s'more over a flame so I am looking forward to it.

I used the rotisserie spit from a grill we got rid of
to hang the pot over the fire

Dinner is on the fire.

Grease flare ups get high.

Working Hard?

Well, here I go again. I'm going to try to blog more often. I have some great ideas for going forward. More articles and book reviews on topics related to both my medieval and modern interests.

I started work this weekend on a series about medieval drinks and modern equivalents. I'll be finding out more about the medieval and tasting the modern. This should start this week. Weekends as beautiful as this past one was perfect to sit in the yard and have a tasting! I'll need some beer and wine drinkers to help out as I go, so my friends, feel free to volunteer!

I'm also working on pilgrim's bags for the store. I'll post some pics here as I work on a medieval looking design for modern and reenacting use.

Today is too beautiful to stay inside, so off I go to the garden!

Experiments in blogging

Lately, I've been trying out new types of posts. Book reviews, pointing to interesting things on the web, this stuff is new to me.  I'm trying to find the voice I want to write and you want to read. If there is something specific you want to hear more about, let me know. If you have some feedback, I'd love to hear it!

Medieval Bartertown Rocks!

I have been a member of the Facebook group Medieval Bartertown for a while now. I never had the nerve to join in until just recently. I have finished my first barter and am just waiting for the US postal service to deliver my new goodies for the other. 

I bartered Sara this silver necklace for the lovely rust/burnt orange linen. I also bartered Helaine a Scottish themed knife for some natural colored linen. The post office still has the natural linen.

I am thrilled with how this all went and am looking forward to bartering again. Its nice to know that I can get great stuff for other great stuff I'm just not using!

Medieval Bartertown is a closed group. If you are interested in medieval reenactment, its a wonderful resource for gear, inspiration and camaraderie.

Silver Celtic Seahorse Necklace

Rust/ Burnt Orange Fabric

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Scottish Themed Knife (photo by Helaine)

Book Review: The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England

I just read a great book by Ian Mortimer. The book is  The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England.  It's subtitled A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century and Ian delivers. He writes in a conversational style that we wish for in many guidebooks. Fourteenth century England comes alive as a country you may want to visit. He covers all the items you may need if you suddenly have access to a time machine. With chapters on the landscape, people, what to wear, traveling, the law and more the past, this book is based on excellent research on the time period. I look forward to reading the rest of the series as well as his other history books. I just got an email from my library saying one is in. I'll talk about that one next week.

Food in Medieval Sicily

A fellow group member on Facebook has had her article picked up by Medievalist.net. Congratulations to Christine Truelove! Medievalist.net is a great resource for those studying the Medieval eras. They take articles published throughout the web and make them available in one place. I will be reposting their articles to highlight great research and interesting ideas. Please take the time to read this article on Food in Medieval Sicily.  The comments on raw onions from period sources are wonderful. They thought peoples brains were addled from eating raw food. But don't read what I have to say, read the expert.

Live on Etsy!

JustGwen is live!!! I made the decision and dove right in. I opened my Etsy store last weekend. It's filling up nicely with my stash of finished items and vintage patterns.  I hope to begin putting more of my current work soon. I wanted to get my completed pieces up while I still had the gumption. Please click over and take a look. I have been getting new items up every day or so. I've set up a coupon code for those who read this blog. Until October 20th, enter JGLive in the coupon code for a 10% discount on any item over $5! Just click here to get started!

My Honey's got a Brand New Bag

I had a great thought about how to put together a pilgrim bag and I just had to try it.  I checked my fabric stash and came up with a piece of green canvas that would be just right. I chose a darker green broadcloth for the liner since its my sweetie's favorite color is green.  I hand-stitched it, something I won't do again without a thimble. But I found I love to hand-sew. My sewing machine will be gathering dust in the future.

I know I haven't given an update on the favor I'm making for my sweetie. I haven't made much progress on it but this project has my hands twitching to sew more.  I'll post again about it when its done.

Christmas Sweeties

I've just finished my Christmas baking and candy making. Here are my successes:

Moravian Wafers, these are a staple of my holiday baking. They are a spicy ginger cookie, crisp and yummy. This is about half of the dough. They make alot.

 Homemade marshmallows are nothing like store bought. They are worth the effort. They make about 9 dozen and came out delicious.

Last but not least are the chocolate covered goodies. This year I made chocolate cover pretzels, a long time staple, and chocolate covered saltines.  The last sounded yucky to me but a coworker made some and they are amazing! I think I may have a new staple!!

Well, I'll post again after Christmas. Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!

Christmastide

Well its the holidays again. I'm slammed at work and with all the holiday preparations so I thought I'd share a link this week.  Here is a link to an article about Dating Christmas.  I have been subscribed to Medievalists.net on Facebook (www.medievalists.net on the web) for a while and they have great articles to share. Enjoy!

My Favor Progress

Here is an update on the favor I'm making. I just finished the first petal. I like how the chain stitches are coming out.  I apologize for the poor quality but I still can't find the good camera.

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, life always gets away from me. I just got a promotion at work and the winter storm here in the northeast has me out in the yard almost everyday.
I did start a new favor for Valgan.  It's a dogwood on muslin for his belt.  The center is french knots in green.  I started with the outline in back stitch. I hope to use at least one more stitch in the project.

The photo is awful but I can't find the camera so I used my phone. I'll post more updates as it goes along. Having a project has been very relaxing after a busy day.