Textiles and Tea, yogurt updates

Yesterday's Textiles and Tea featured Melissa Weaver Dunning, weaver specializing in historic weave structures, tartans, Acadian (Cajun) weaves and vintage looms. See her blog spot blog for more. She's also a folk singer, a lot of YouTube videos to check. Though she's a spinner, it's the weaving she really plunges into. 

She gave a brief account of (originally) Arcadian, then Acadian, then, with moving from Canada to Louisiana, Cajun, weave forms.  Using two harness looms, the weavers created many inventive variations on weave structure.

She's knowledgeable about tartan and its political and clan identities and significance, and loves working with the designs, mixing color as they do, alternating with pure color sections.

She knitted this Aran cardigan in a mad rush to wear on a trip to Scotland, finished it at the destination! What keen knitter among us doesn't identify with that situation?

she loves to teach, and offers round robin experiences, where every participant works samples on several available looms.

Definitely look her up on YouTube, for her Mount Vernon weaving demos in costume, to her unaccompanied folk singing.

Back to today, here's my current audio book while I knit and stitch and, soon, weave. 

Written and narrated by Rachel Maddow, it's about the history and politics of fossil fuels and a lot more dramatic than I'd expected. It's adding to my education about the current turmoil in the world. 

A peaceful note to end on -- do you remember I mentioned I was processing yogurt using insulated coolpack bags, with containers of hot water  with the glass jar of yogurt?

It makes the best texture yet. I think it's because the cooling is slowed down to a very gradual decrease. So yesterday's batch I made in one bag inside another. After 24 hours, there was still warmth, and another good batch. 

This is the fourth generation from the original yogurt, and I'll soon buy another, because I think it loses vital potency after a few iterations. Anyone with experience on this issue, please let me know your opinion on how many generations you go for. Chris, looking at you!

Then with the new supply of oatmeal expected from misfits tomorrow, there will be more granola, this time with walnuts, dried apricots, cranberries and maybe caraway seeds.

Then I'll definitely be flying my hippie flag!

Happy day everyone, let's hope and pray our President can help avert worse conflict with today's Israel  visit.

Photo AC