Emily Martin, Rosamund, and More!

Last September I ordered three prints from The Black Apple on Etsy. This is a shop run by artist Emily Martin in ....oooo, gosh, Portland, I think... I've long been an admirer of her work, and blog (Inside a Black Apple), and decided it was about time to order a print, or three. I keep meaning to purchase one of her original pieces, but I'm never quite quick enough. The originals seem to leave the shop in minutes, if not seconds, and it often doesn't dawn on me that the sale has started until the next day.

I love that this artist frequently paints portraits of female characters with dark hair and blue eyes, that's my colouring, as well as Elly's and Mum's former colouring (Mum is now a whiter shade of dark, and Elly has opted for a platinum/magenta combo at the mo'). The prints I ordered were all from her "Oddfellow's Orphanage" series, and I chose these three to represent myself, my Mum and Elly.



This one is called Baby Tooth, apropos, I think, for Elly, as she's studying to become a Montessori teacher. Also, Elly had a dress very similar to this...around about first grade...in fact, hee hee, here it is...






Next is Illustrated Imogene. This one is me, with the tattoos - now I know that Elly has tattoos now as well, but I currently have more, and, well, I did it first.



The last one is Nurse Effie, she represents Mum, who, back in the day, was a midwife in Scotland. I have photos of her wearing her crisp white cap and her uniform, and, if I'm not mistaken, she's said the uniform included a navy cape with a red lining. Sadly, I've no photos of that, but I'll bet it was pretty spiffy!

I couldn't find a photo of her wearing her uniform in Scotland, so here's one after she arrived in Canada (she's the one on the far right).



I've put them up in a corner of the craft room, appropriate, as Mum and Elly and I are all busy, crafting types.

On the needles currently is the Rosamund Cardigan from the Autumn 2009 Interweave knits.



I've been working on this cardi for a while, but keep forgetting to post about it, so here you go...

I'm working it up in Plymouth Yarns Royal Silk Merino in the lilac colourway. The yarn is quite lovely, but I'm not accustom to working with worsted weight so much and I fear it may end up making me look like the side of a house. A silky, lilacy side of a house.

Also, something to share...



from Sheila Lukins book, The Around the World Cookbook, her recipe (mostly) for...

Morning Muesli

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup unprocessed bran 1/2 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar (light or dark)
1/8 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine bran, dried fruit, sunflower seeds, sugar and cinnamon and mix together.
Spread the oats on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly browned and fragrant, about 10 minutes, shaking the pan once during cooking. Transfer to the large bowl and stir.
Place the almonds on the baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly browned, 6-7 minutes, shaking the pan once during cooking. Transfer to bowl and stir.
Place coconut on baking sheet and toast until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to the bowl and stir. Let cool. Muesli keeps for several weeks stored in an airtight container.

In the original recipe, Sheila Lukins tells you to combine the toasted ingredients first, then add the rest, but I find if you add the toasted ingredients into the already mixed remaining items, the brown sugar and cinnamon will warm ever so slightly and release all those fabulous aromas.

I'm not a big breakfast-eater, so this recipe is ideal, a serving is just 1/3 cup, and it's loaded with fibre and iron. Since the oats aren't cooked, merely toasted, it slowly, well, sort of...cooks...in your stomach (Nigel will be thoroughly disgusted at that thought), but truly, it's a fabulous breakfast - I mix it with a little yoghurt and some fruit.



Fabulous!