What’s On Your Workdesk this Wednesday?
Needle Book #3, Tiny Carpet #5
Working on the front cover of the third and final needle book. Last time I showed the chart for this design:
based on this Islamic prayer mat:
I am steaming ahead with the embroidery. Here is the first stage completed – the beige colour.
The first stage is always the most difficult because it involves the most counting. An undetected error here can throw out the whole design.
The red completed – except for the red background.
Both shades of blue completed.
The small amount of orange completed.
The yellow completed. I’ve added a bit more to the design.
The cream completed.
Finally, this is as far as I have got with it, beginning to work on the green.
Once this is completed, I can begin to work on the two backgrounds. I think this particular tiny carpet is going to come out very rich-looking.
Needle books #1 and #2:
These have now both gone to their recipients, and both are delighted with them! Neither is bothered that the internal pockets idea didn’t come off, so I’m pleased about that.
I’m very keen to get needle book #3 completed as soon as possible, as there are other projects demanding my attention, not least a throw to go over our new settee when it arrives – the due date for it to arrive at the store is 5th November but I have an appointment on that day so we will probably have to arrange an alternative day for delivery.
Food
Bread
No recipe of the week this time, but I can share with you some pictures of my new bread maker. I forgot to mention last week that it had arrived, sooner than expected.
I am very pleased with it. Like the old one, it is a Panasonic, with the ability to add seeds etc. part way through the process. This is the seed dispenser, accessed by lifting the upper lid. At the correct point during the programme, the bottom of the dispenser will open and the seeds drop into the dough and get mixed in.
You lift the main lid to access the body of the machine with the bread pan inside. You can see the paddle in situ in the centre of the pan. At present the pan is just placed loose in the machine, but in use, it is locked into place on a central spindle. You can see the underside of the nut dispenser in the lid. This drops down to release the nuts/seeds etc. at the appropriate time in the cycle.
The new machine also has new facilities such as artisan and sourdough breads, which I have not yet tried. I have looked at the sourdough process and it’s quite different from the hand-made sourdough I was making last year. I haven’t been doing this lately as it’s an extremely lengthy process with very uncertain results, so I am quite keen to give the bread maker a chance. You can make a standard-shaped loaf, or just make the dough and hand-shape it, and to start with I shall try the former. Watch this space.
The new bread maker is a different shape from the old one, which was wider. This one extends further forwards, but side-to-side, it has a smaller footprint on my kitchen counter, which is great. The only problem is that the lid will not open unless the machine is pulled out well clear of the cupboards above, and I have to turn it around sideways. No real difficulty with this but it means operating the controls from the side rather than from the front. No doubt I shall get used to this. The menus are more complicated because of all the extra facilities the machine has.
Here it is, on the counter with my other machines.
From left to right: Dualit 3-slice toaster. Bread maker. High speed blender (base behind the jug). Soyabella soya milk maker. Veggie Bullet base with bullet blender on top (the veggie processor and spiraliser bowls are elsewhere). Ninja Foodi electric pressure cooker, air fryer and slow cooker. My Kenwood Chef stand mixer is on the counter beside the sink.
The first loaf I made was a small seeded loaf using the identical recipe to my normal everyday bread, and it was very successful. This week I decided to try a new recipe from a bread making machine recipe book that I bought when I was first making bread in a machine – Bulgur Wheat Bread. I added my usual extra seeds (sunflower and pumpkin, and also some sesame seeds) as well as the bulgur wheat. Instead of honey I used maple syrup, and added some whey from straining my soya yoghurt instead of buttermilk, and supplementing this with some soya milk. The result was absolutely great, and my hubby loves it too – the bulgur wheat gives it a gorgeous crunch and a delicious nutty flavour. The colour and crumb are excellent, with a good crispy crust. This time I made the intermediate-sized loaf.
The hole at the bottom is where the paddle in the machine was. You always get this with bread-making machine loaves.
Nutrition
The Queen of Dates
The Medjool date has to be the most luxurious, sweet, tender and juicy date in the world. It is large and succulent, and the most wonderful natural sweetener for the whole-food plant-based lifestyle.
Last week I received my latest order from Buy Wholefoods Online – my favourite whole-foods supplier. When their boxes arrive I always ask the delivery driver to put the box on my trolley for me because it always weighs a TON!!! I buy 500g, 1 kg, 2.5 kg and 5 kg packs of all sorts of stuff like legumes, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, herbs and spices etc. You need to be super-fit to lift those boxes, and I’m anything but! I’m definitely better than I was, but it may take another 20 years of scoffing chickpeas and brown rice and lentils before I’m ready for heavy weightlifting!
In this latest parcel was the largest quantity of Medjool dates I’ve bought to date. I was buying them in 500g or 1 kg packs and they came in the company’s standard bag. This time I’d ordered 3 kilos because I am now getting through quite a lot of these sumptuous dates. Imagine my surprise when this beautiful big box emerged at the bottom of the pack!
Straight from Jordan, with the beautiful Islamic design on the lid. I opened it up and found this.
How gorgeous is that?
I had to divide them up into 500g bags and put them in the freezer. That way, they will keep, and I can take out a bag when my jar in the pantry is empty. These dates have stones which have to be removed before you can use them but that’s no real hardship. They are soft to cut.
I decided to do a little research into this Queen of Dates.
This is what they look like, growing on the date palm. This date garden is located in Arizona. They wrap them up to stop the birds getting at them.
I had not realised that Medjool dates aren’t actually dried, but packed fresh. This is why they need to be kept in the fridge or freezer if you want to keep them for any length of time. They are not processed in any way, and have no added chemicals. They are chewy and rich, and have a caramel-like flavour. For a snack, they are absolutely delicious stuffed with a little almond butter.
One website I found described how the dates are formed. “There are male and female palms. The male’s sole purpose is to pollinate the female. Once that process is done, they just sit back and relax for the rest of the year while the females carry the heavy load and produce the fruit. Sounds just like humans. ?” Haha! She goes on to say, “Growing Medjool date is a labor intensive process. The growers call it a labor of love. It takes about seven years for a tree to start producing. Once that happens growers have to go up and down the trees 12-15 times a year to tend to the dates.”
Medjool dates are much more expensive than regular Deglet Noor dates which are harder and semi-dried, and have a much longer shelf-life. This variety may be better for baking if you want to retain the integrity of the fruit, because they are firmer and drier. They also have that traditional date flavour
The nutritional value of Medjool dates
They contain natural sugar, but they have a low glycaemic index because they also contain a lot of fibre. The sugar is released slowly and so it does not cause that insulin spike so frequent with refined carbohydrate products. The energy release is slow and sustained, and will help curb those cravings for sweet snacks. They are low in fat and are full of great phytonutrients such potassium; they contain 50 percent more potassium weight-for-weight than a banana; they also contain copper, magnesium (an anti-inflammatory), vitamin B6, niacin, calcium, iron and vitamin K, and are rich in anti-oxidants. They have also been proven to decrease cholesterol and boost bone health. What’s not to like?
Sometimes they have what appears to be a whitish deposit on them which you could be forgiven for thinking was mould; however, this is merely the sugar crystallising on the surface and is completely harmless. To improve the appearance (although unnecessary), you can wrap the dates in a damp cloth or paper towel and microwave them for a mere 5 seconds, which will plump up the dates and cause the sugar to be re-absorbed.
Kitties
Hard at work relaxing.
Ruby as the tightest little ball she could make of herself. I think she was practising for when she beds down in my mixing bowl (my hubby’s suggestion – I don’t think he should put ideas into her head).
Last week I shared a video of them coming in from the garden. Here’s one of them going out to play.
That evening, we had a job getting them in again. This isn’t usually a problem because they are hungry for their tea. On this occasion it was a bit later than usual, and it was getting dark, and they wouldn’t come in! What was going on behind that trough in the patio that was more interesting than tea?
The quality is a bit strange because I had to edit the video to make it lighter.
In, safe and sound, full of tea and content at last.
Heath Update
Parastomal hernia repair
As it was getting on for a month since my phone conversation with the man at the Exeter PALS office, I phoned again on Monday. He said that the investigation was ongoing, and involved two departments (radiology – the offhand way I had been treated by the woman when I had my CT scan, and of course, surgery – getting lost in the system for all those months). He thought the investigation was probably coming to a conclusion, and that he would find out how things were going, and phone me back. I reminded him that in December, in about six weeks’ time, it would be two whole years since my initial referral by Torbay Hospital, which I did not think was acceptable.
Dentist
This week I have broken off a small piece of one of my bottom teeth, and I have an appointment in November to get this looked at. So far it’s not painful and I hope it stays that way! There’s rather a rough edge which isn’t very nice. I loathe going so I hope it’s only a minor repair that isn’t going to involve a lot of drilling!
Bladder
My last phone appointment was cancelled because Zoe, the physiotherapist, was off sick. This has now been rescheduled for tomorrow. Everyone is so busy, and I’ve had to wait a long time for this appointment – during my last one, she asked me to make another one in about 6 to 8 weeks’ time to see how I was getting on, and that’s long, long overdue now! Oh well, nothing too urgent here – it’s just a progress report really, and I think she’ll be pleased that her treatment regimen is working for me.
Optician
I’ve had to reschedule my appointment for my eye test twice because of other things cropping up (my bladder appointment, and an unavoidable commitment for my hubby). It is now happening on 5th November. I am keen to get this done because I want to know what he thinks about the progress of my cataracts. My eyesight is definitely worse and I’d really like to get them done sooner rather than later. It’s becoming quite noticeable now. However, with so much elective surgery being put on the back burner by what is now effectively no longer an NHS but a National Covid Service, who knows when this will happen? Same story with my hernia repair, I think. I’m beginning to wonder if that will ever happen during my lifetime…
On the day of my eye appointment, we are planning to include a shopping expedition. It is probably a year since I’ve been shopping and had the chance just to look around the shops, and I am really looking forward to that! I love shopping! I can lose my hubby in a book shop or somewhere, and go off and enjoy myself!
Clothes
The final of my three multi-layered tops – the brown one.
It has a matching scarf, which I am wearing twisted with a silk one with turquoise in it, to go with my trousers and socks. I bought the trousers, together with an identical pair in dark red, many years ago in an ethnic shop in Totnes which has since closed, unfortunately – they had lots of gorgeous Indian stuff in there. This brown top is the first one that I bought, I think at a craft show, and these days it’s really too big for me so I think I may get rid of it. It is also the plainest, and has a plain back, which is why we didn’t bother to photograph it.
Have a happy creative week, everybody.
Super post again . . finishing with a lovely photo . . . .
As you can gather I wont be heading down your way again, I do not drive and the car has now gone. My neighbours have been very good, they are sorting out all the paperwork for me.
I look forward to seeing all your creativity with the new breadmaker. That’s a beautiful piece of stitching, so colourful and very neat, what count is your fabric?
Have a good week
Christine #14
Another tiny carpet? You really must enjoy making them – a bit like me and my gelli prints – I will never get tired of making those! The bread machine made me go like “Hmm, do I need one?” Possibly, as I struggle to get good wholegrain/wholemeal bread from Tesco’s. I tend to eat those German rye breads these days, but they’re very different from regular bread. They’re great with peanut butter though! Fascinating about the dates – thanks for sharing your research. Enjoyed watching the kitties’ shenanigans – you can tell they’re predatory from the way they walk. I often watch Oreo in the garden walking just like that. Good to know that you were able to get a dentist appointment at relatively short notice – I’ll have to visit mine too – something’s going on with one of my teeth, but it doesn’t feel like regular toothache – more like just annoying and very sensitive to cold. I’ve been putting it off, but I know there’s no point delaying the inevitable. Urgh – could do without it. I like the cut of that top – looks like a very versatile piece that you can wear over anything. The only thing I miss about summer is my summer dresses – it was so easy to get dressed in the morning. I hate getting dressed – I don’t know why but I find it a hassle. If I had a magic wand – other then making instant meals, I would use it to dress myself and generally to make myself look presentable! Have fun this week, Shoshi!
Hi Shoshi. Well done on all the sewing on cover number 3. It’s looking good. Not seen dates on their tree before!!
Hope all the appointments get sorted out before too long.
Take care. God bless.
Margaret #3
I’m so in love with these needle books. I have a variety of rugs from different countries and just love the patterns. That’s animals for you they are always finding something more interesting to play with even if it is Tea time. Love the new Bread Maker and always fancied one but we don’t eat enough bread unfortunately. Have a lovely week and a very happy woyww, Angela xXx
Shoshi, the newest carpet is coming along quick and beautiful!! Can’t wait to see the final piece! You sure do have a lot of patience!! I haven’t used my bread maker in ages. I need to pull that rascal out and “actually” use it!! LOL Your bread looked fabulous! And the DATES!!!! I love dates!!! Good shot of how they look growing on the tree! I never knew! I would imagine they fight the bird battle daily!! Makes them all the more appreciated and loved! LOL Those kitties with their find…..and the one swatting the other….tooo funny! I miss having kitties! Goodness with the health battles! Someone needs to give those doctors what for!!! I pray blessings and favor in those areas. Your outfits continue to outsmart one another! I really like this outfit as well! I’m partial to those colors! Just lovely! Well blessings for the rest of your week! Felicia #32
the latest carpet is coming along a treat! I’d get so carried away I’d forget to take progress pics. I hope at least some of your health appointments happen when they are meant to!!
It’s a hard life being your cats, eh?! Have a good week, stay safe – oh and I love today’s top! Helen #2
The addition of the green really works beautifully in your design, so nice to see those stages. My how your breadmaker looks so stylish, the last one we had was huge!! How clever is that little hatch to add seeds mid cook, amazing. The kitties look so sweet all curled up, it sure heading towards cosy time for our furbabies.
Loving the outfit again Shoshi, you wear it all so well. Happy WoywW & I hope the chipped tooth behaves.
Tracey #8 xx Thank you for the Birthday wishes x
Your little embroidery is looking beautiful already – I can’t wait to see it finished. I love your top and would definitely struggle to get rid of it if it was mine – mind you it’s nice to give things up because they are too big rather than too small!!
Love the pics of the kitties – they are so funny in the video and so expressive – you can see what they are thinking!
Thanks so much for your visit to mine – CAS means clean and simple, so in other words plenty of clean area to get grubby while working on it! However, I absolutely hate the use of acronyms and try very hard not to use them so I apologise profusely for yesterdays usage! I have no idea what most people are talking about when they use them and it’s not just in blog land, I find them being used all over the place now – in Facebook groups, on the news, and so on – it drives me nuts!
Hope you have a great week,
Diana x #19
Your needle work is completely stunning, I don’t think that I would have either the accuracy or the patience to do such detailed work!
Beautiful!
Chrissie #10
Hi Shoshi, your latest carpet is coming along nicely and it was a real treat to see the girls in the video. Such beautiful cats. Your bread maker looks smaller than I thought it would be, but quite tall. Have a great week Angela #36
Those dates certainly look luscious Shoshi. The new tiny carpet is coming on so well. Love the design. I am finally seeing the neurologist this afternoon after my MRI at the end of July so hoping to find out what is going on. Hope all your appointments pan out and aren’t postponed or cancelled again. Meow to Ruby and Lily. STay safe and happy WOYWW. Sarah #1
I love dates, especially the Medjool ones but I had no idea about them – thanks for all the information, very enjoyable reading which will enhance the taste (if it is possible) when I next have some,
I love your new tiny carpet. I thought the first photograph was going to be where you were now up to but as I scrolled on and on I realised just how much you had done of it. What a lot of work, but how beautiful is it going to be. Another triumph from Shoshi!
Love the breadmaker, I am still pushing for one but other bills keep coming in and getting in the way – one day soon. Maybe he could have one for Christmas as he has to do so much around here these days with my back problem? Your loaf sounds delicious, and looks so too.
Of course the kitties provided the entertainment. How much I enjoy seeing them each week and the added interest of the video is fabulous!
Oh dear on the medical front. I agree two years is a tad too long to be waiting. Gosh, is it really so long? Seems longer and yet seems like not long ago, I think these Covid times are playing havoc with my head. I think the dentist is unable to do the drilling, unless in an emergency. Something to do with dust being airborne. Am sure I read that lots of procedures have to be held off, including electronically scaling.
Finally the outfit – again I love it. I can see what you mean about it being the plainest of your outfits – think that is mainly due to the colour but it still looks good on you. Could you not run a new seam down the sides to take it in a little. Doesn’t matter if you were going to get rid of it if it isn’t right after sewing. I wonder if one of the other ‘undershirts’ would go with the top to give it a bit more pizzazz? I am loathe to throw these things away but take no notice of me – you are the one wearing them. I hope you find something else to model for us next week.
Hugs, Neet 6 xx
Great new tiny carpet ~ I loved the kitty video ~ I’m sure it was a bug. Do they really drink tea?? Your bread looks delicious and so do the dates. We have a wholefoods store about 10 min. away which is very nice. We call it wholepaycheck as you can spend your whole weeks pay and not blink an eye! I’ve had my share of dental issues so I understand your hesitation. Our dentist is being super careful and having you wait in the car till your turn. A bin for clean pens and dirty pens too which I appreciated. Blessings on your upcoming appointments ~ Love, Karen#40
HI Shoshi, sorry for the late visit, I’ve been battling with techy gremlins and can’t read any of the comments on my post at the moment,but hoping the comments I leave will show up fingers crossed. I love your latest tiny embroidery, really must have a go at making a little carpet for one of my mini rooms, would you mind if I use your design pretty please? Your bread looks delicious, I love the idea of adding the seeds. I’ve been experimenting with chia seeds this week – soaking them for a couple of hours then spreading spoonfuls on baking paper and dryign out in a slow oven to make crackers – delish and guilt-free snack! Anyway, have a great week, Annie C #23
Thanks for popping into my world Shoshi. It’s a lot quieter than yours!
We have a Panasonic bread maker with seed tray like yours. We love it, though we were putting on so much weight we have put it out of sight for a while. It was so satisfying waking up to the smell of bread in a morning, when we put it on to bake over night.
Tunnocks are caramel wafer chocolate bars, made by the same guys that make the tea cakes. Very scrummy.
Your needle books are fab. Will you be my friend!!
The plastic box holds my finger dobber thingies. I use them to dob ink through stencils. They are cute aren’t they.
I do hope your health improves very soon and you have successful appointments. I guess your new additions will help.
Take care with hugs from Sue. x
Fantastic post. Loving the tiny carpet – those little motif look almost like lips to start with – the design is so pretty, funnily enough I was in the V&A yesterday and the Persian/Ottoman/Middle Eastern hall with its splendid carpet and breathtaking ceramics is my absolute favourite – no matter what I have to wander through there as it is so fabulous, I thought of you and your tiny carpets and how beautiful and interesting this style of design is. The bread looks wonderful – I am trying to restrict how much bread I eat at the moment – not because of any health preoccupations but rather as I love a good loaf, especially with interesting seeds and a dark flour, I truly believe that grains are a wonderful food group so I will never wean myself totally away from bread, I do however believe that like any food group we should explore more than the conventional grains and enjoy them 🙂 Ill be interested in following your bread making – we dont have a bread maker but I am moderately interested/intrigued – and we have very few gadgets I guess, as many of them were not used and I culled them a few years ago – pizza maker for the kids, sandwich maker for the kids, popcorn maker for the kids…. and sadly the electric frypan (every kiwi I know of has one – I think it is the law) bit the dust (truly amazing things – drop scones, risotto, stew, we managed a Christmas dinner in it one year when the oven packed up, Christmas cake…. now days my most utilised gadget is the slow cooker, followed by the trusty liquidiser and maybe then the little electric grinder.
Funnily enough I have just booked myself an eye appointment for this thursday up in Milngavie, I am sure my near sight is not as good as it should be – I keep taking my glasses off to see things, hmmmm not sure if it is peering at a small work screen weekdays or what – but for a stitcher, I cant have such issues!!!
Loving the information about the dates – Nr.1 child is a complete date junkie if left alone with them, and that website is full of too much deliciousness – we have had some very fine nuts and whatnot in past from them, too dnagerous 🙂
I find you so interesting, Shoshi. I just loved the way that you showed us the gradual embroidery – so fascinating. Beautiful and artistic. Eyes can be so difficult, wierdly so. Sometimes I wonder just how genetic some of our eye problems are, because as a healer I can tell you that so many of our physical problems that manifest are just that – genetic.
Hi Shoshi, sorry I’m so late, t’internet has been a tad flaky and I have no patience with the whirring symbol!! I’m sure you will soon have mastered your new breadmaker!! The little carpet projects continue to be a delight and yes I think that one you are working on will be very rich when finished. Hope you get your tooth sorted – even a little sharp edge can be very irritating can’t it? I hope you get your cataracts done soon – mum had her first one done just before lockdown and has been in limbo waiting for the second ever since! It’s very frustrating for her and annoying because she held off having it done for so long because she has quite extreme tremors but everything went very smoothly. Until lockdown!! Hey ho. I am off the night nurse and feeling much better at the mo – managed a full 8 hours last night, the exrta hour definitely came in useful!! Stay well, stay safe, Cindy #25
Sorry I’m late! It is amazing how the addition of a small amount of the second colour starts to anchor the design to the cloth, I think this is my favourite so far. There aren’t many Islamic patterns that I don’t like to be honest! Lovely to see that bug box of medjool dates…a big favourite in this house. Specially if there’s entertaining to be done, it means I might be making a sticky toffee pudding!
Hi Shoshi! Your video of the cats not coming in for tea reminded me of last week when I came downstairs and found the cats doing just what Ruby and Lily were doing around our shoes. What could be so interesting about shoes? I picked one up and there was a little mouse. I quickly put the shoe back down so the cats wouldn’t get it! The mouse did run into my office, gave the cats a run for their money, but I soon was able to catch and release the poor thing! So I’m thinking Ruby and Lily may have ben after a little mouse! Wonderful new bread machine! I have a very old one that I got at a thrift store, how nice it would be to have a nice new one! Your counter looks a lot like mine, no wonder I have to do most of my prep on the flat-top stovetop! My Keurig gave out the other day, so I did have to get a new one, it is smaller, lighter, but nicer than the old one, and it’s white so I can see it! The old one was black and kind of hidden in the shadows. Sorry I’m so late this week! Thanks for your visit! Lindart #34
the tiny emboideries are lovely so intricate and fair play for designing them too (not easy even when using an actual rug as the inspiration).
Ooh nice bread maker, must admit we are thinking of getting rid of ours as I have been making a delia smith no knead bread recently and really like it (and I could do with the room as been thinking about buying a dehydrator for the past couple of years) but your seeded bread looks lovely.
As to my blog (and disctober) its a take on Inktober using prompts from Terry Pratchett Discworld novels, each year I do Inktober and this year a friend (and fellow Discworld geek) challenged me to take part in that too!!).
Thanks for visiting my desk already and hope your having a great week (although I have to agree, 2 years for waiting list is rubbish!)
kyla
Loved reading your post as usual!!
Lovely mini carpet design and the bread looks super!
Sorry for late visit and brief comment.
Susan #24
Goodmorning, Soshi! So great to see you. I’ve missed you, dear. Lots of busy in your life for sure. I’ve often thought about a bread machine but then realized I’d weigh 300 pounds LOL I do love warm bread with creamy butter. I just bake a loaf when we get the urge then it’s gone. How did we live without all these small appliances lined up along our counter top like soldier’s at the ready? Lat Christmas we invested in a Emeril 360 oven. A toaster oven/ air fryer/ broiler/ slow cooker/ rotisserie…. the list goes on. I think there are 11 functions. Reminds me, maybe I’ll pull out a cornish hen to pop on there tomorrow. Hmm. Love the needle books. I’ve not done cross in years. I used to while watching tv but now I need the cheaters to do the needle work and take them off to watch the telly. I do have a large embroidery piece I would really like to do. Maybe on my list for 2021? Creative Blessings! Kelly #31