Current concurrent reading and soup, Islamic art

 I usually have several books going at a time, aside from audiobooks, and this week it's Tidelands, which is slow but inexorable, and very good,  and 

This is the "classic affluent unqualified lady gets to be a publisher almost by accident", the story of the haphazard boy's clubby upper class world of English publishing.  

Except that she found she was a great editor, as her stable of writers attest. And this, I've just started it, is nonfiction about her life ss sn editor who turns out also to be an engaging writer. 

Then I just downloaded

On being alerted of its existence by Steve.

So between knitting and studying my Arabic, I'll be reading. Also enjoying soup.

This turned out to be celery, broccoli, spinach and yellow potato. Green powerhouse.

Today's art is Islamic illustration and miniature painting

Speaking of things Arabic, I was looking yesterday at pictures of young East End of London school children yesterday.  

I found that when one, in the little bio each eight year old child gave, mentioned her sister, I could have written her name. This is exactly why I'm learning this stuff, just to enlarge my ability.

Got to go, Arabic lesson calls.

Happy day everyone, learn something, it's always fun. Or don't, on the grounds, as Bertie Wooster would say, that you're full up!

Textiles and Tea, plant pot experiments, drawing

Yesterday's Textiles and Tea featured a hugely inventive weaver, writer, math major and bilingual experimenter in textiles, clay and printmaking.

Never met a loom she didn't like -- see the inkle loom up there? She's experimenting with inking her weaving to make prints from it too. And as you see, she's interested too in 3D effects. She's Canadian, in Quebec, and a true talent.

Check her website, too.

Meanwhile, at home, experiments were happening, too. I've been wanting to try making a little radiant heater using tealights and clay pots, so I tried it. 

First with one pot, Then two, with hole in the smaller inner one covered with a coin. That worked better.

Now I need tealights, having used the two Diwali ones, and I'm thinking of making a hundred hour candle using Crisco. I'll pick some up this afternoon and we'll see. 

The idea is just to create a little nonelectric radiant heat, though you extinguish the candles when you're not present, don't leave them unattended, usual precaution.  As you see, the fireplace is a safe surface to try this on.

There's a huge range of videos about this, from hellbent engineers with rods and bolts and gantries and flyover hinged flanges snd I dunnowhatelse, all the way to a lovely old English bloke peacefully making a simple two pot one to keep his greenhouse from freezing. All men, I noticed.

The experiment was paused when Gary came over with the latest gleanings from his plants for me.

Now prepped and frozen for future veggie pancakes or something. 

And I did a drawing

Speaking of the weaver who does math above, just a reminder of who taught the west a lot of what we know about math and astronomy

And before I leave you, here's a great cute overload

Happy day everyone, cook on if you're in the midst of Thanksgiving, be relieved if you aren't, but either way, enjoy your day, oops, I'm a poet and I don't noet.

Soup, bread, knitting, life's essentials

This morning was about making soup and bread rolls to go with it.

Leek and potato, with leftover spinach/ cheese mix from the lasagna added in. Made six meals.

And I tried out a recipe for bread rolls involving yogurt, and was happy with how it came out. Batch of eight.

So that was lunch accounted for. There's a bread roll on the side.

Then the knitting group met, and here are just a few of the projects. D. modeling a recently finished jacket 

This is the start of a vest in progress, also by D, along the lines of the many colored one I spun and knitted and wove. 

I feel like such a pioneer! She's very keen to have her own version of my vest and I'm so flattered. It's looking very good so far.

And S. is knitting, in mosaic stitch, a cowl lovely color range. She's really good on color choice,  and mixing by holding two yarns together. As you see. I want to try mosaic stitch now.

The chickens, knitted by L,  will probably be framed individually and hung in different rooms as a little running gag.  

I'm still on the socks you saw before, well into sock two now.

The chat was as varied as ever, ranging from a grandchild due any time now, craft and art exhibits, books, cars which look alike causing some of us to try to break into other people's cars, knitting techniques, pom-pom making and Thanksgiving. 

And here's a great link for art for kids from cardboard and tape by Darrell Wakelam

And a montage of Islamic art just to enjoy without needing to do anything about it.

Happy day everyone! May only your good chickens come home to roost!