Free EBooks on Crafting, Sewing, Knitting, Crochet and Other Things - 1/9/13

This is a list of free ebooks you can download onto Kindle, items with a Kindle app, or do like I do - keep them in your Kindle Cloud.  For today, these books are free - I make no promises they will continue to be free, so please be sure to check the listing before you hit that purchase button!

Several of these are reprints of much older books on sewing, knitting, hat making - all kinds of good stuff. Sometimes the older the book is, the better it is.

Remember, I'm just a source, not the author of any of these books. If you don't like what you're reading - stop. I have not checked any of them for accuracy- just passing them along to you.

NOTE - Apparently, some necessary illustrations may be missing from some of these books in Ebook form.

ALSO, the links are being awfully weird in appearance today, but they still work.

Other Crafts

French Polishing and Enamelling A Practical Work of Instruction - 1910

A Course In Wood Turning - 1919

Practical Mechanics for Boys - 1914

Handmade- A step by step guide to creating your own hand bound books at home

Woodwork Joints: How they are Set Out, How Made and Where Used

Kites, Practical and Play

The Royal Guide to Wax Flower Modelling - 1851

Macramé: String Theory

Sewing

Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving - 1910

Textiles and Clothing - 1907

Primary Handwork - 1923

Chats on Old Lace and Needlework - 1908

Knitting

Exercises in Knitting - 1851

Time to Cut The Wood and The Rest of Our Day

Today was time to cut the wood day.  So later this afternoon, we went out, set up the saw, let the dogs out to roam, let the chickens into the run, and I got to work.  Two plus hours of cutting wood, interrupted by a break to clean the poop board and feed the chickens, and convince them to it was time to go in.  Most didn't take much convincing, but Bird Flu and Baby decided that I was in the wrong.  Only took 10 minutes to convince Bird Flu to go in, but Baby decided the best fun would be to have me follow her around the run for close to 20 minutes before giving up and going in.

By then, the dogs wanted in as well, so I let them in.

Back to cutting the wood.  On a good note, I managed to get through the whole pile of downed trees. On a lesser note, that pile didn't make a whole lot of cut wood, because most of the wood was aspen wood - trees anywhere from 2 inches in diameter to 6 inches. But there is a decent pile.  Next cutting is the stack of mostly cut and split pine; this needs to be cut smaller for the cookstove.

There's still plenty of downed trees, or standing dead still on the property to take down; we shouldn't run out this year.  In the spring, on the free slash clearing days, I plan to put an ad in the online forums for anyone's trees - I never pass up free wood. I saw so many whole, debranched trees go tot he high school for the slash piles - this year, I need to either pick some of it up, or see if I can get people to drop it off in exchange for eggs or baked goods.

I found some worm eaten aspen - I don't know what kind of bug it was, but it is something I need to keep watch for. At least we don't have the right trees for the pine beetles.

I finished cutting in the twilight; I filled the woodbox from the newly cut pile and it was almost dark.  I put the saw away just in time to hear a lone coyote howling, fairly close.  Made me glass the girls were already in for the night.

The funniest part of the day? I started cutting wood with some of the pieces that needed to be shortened.  Even though I was on the far side of the house, the chickens could clearly hear me and were curious - as I went to pick up another piece of wood, they were all at the fence looking at me.  They did that for several more pieces of wood, until I my noise was no longer interesting.  Sad when gravel becomes more interesting that you!

The only part I dislike about cutting wood is being covered in sawdust.  I brush off, take my clothes off near the back room door to keep the lingering sawdust in one place, and go take a shower.  Afterward, my face feels like its been sandpapered for a while, but then it is rather smooth.  Sawdust exfoliant - I don't recommend it.

Another section of the day was spent trying to track down a package that'd I'd mailed, was said to be delivered, but no.  That's just sooo much fun.  Yes, that is sarcasm.

Two eggs again today. This time, one of the Leghorns laid - they seem to be the ones who have cut down on egg production the most.

Scruffy Bird Flu says Hi!

Tomorrow? Stack the wood.

Of Cabbage Rolls and Kings

Ok- no kings.  Don't have any, don't know any.

But we do have cabbage rolls, in the oven, as we speak.  I remember my mother used to make these, and they were an all day affair.  I've also made them myself, and one of my biggest complaints (and from the kids) was crunchy rice. You see, all the recipes from my childhood have you using uncooked rice in the balls.

This time - I cooked the rice until it was almost ready.. We shall see  how that turns out.

My recipe - compiled from many recipes:

Cabbage Rolls

1 pound of ground beef
2/3 cup of uncooked rice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/3 teaspoon garlic powder
Cabbage
1 can tomato sauce

Cook the rice until mostly done.  Drain and rinse to cool.  Put the pound of ground beef in a bowl, sprinkle the onion and garlic powders onto the ground beef, add the rice.  Mix it all by hand until thoroughly and evenly mixed together.

Pull about 8 leaves off the head of the cabbage. The leaves may rip a bit - that's ok. Put a saucepan full of water on to boil, and put the cabbage leaves in the boiling water one at a time, about 2 minutes, or until the cabbage leaf starts getting limp and a bit translucent.

Put cabbage leaf on a cutting board and cut it in half the long way, taking the vein out of the middle.  Make a small ball of the ground beef mix, put it in the middle of a leaf half, and wrap the leaf around the ball, covering it fully. Repeat until you have about 12 balls, or have used up all of the ground beef mix.

Pour about 1/4 of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a square glass pan, then put each of the cabbage wrapped balls in the pan - it's OK to crowd them together.  once the pan is full, pour the rest of the tomato sauce over the top, cover with foil, and put in a 350 degree oven to cook for 30-40 minutes. I cut one in half to check if they are done.

Salt and pepper? up to you.

The finished product, happily eaten by all. Oh, and mostly cooking the rice before was the right thing to do.If you like more meat and less rice, cook less rice.

THRIFTY TIP:

Something thrifty you can do - let the water you cooked the cabbage leaves in cool, and save it to water plants.  Puts those extra nutrients into the soil. You can do this for most vegetables; however I don't always recommend it for indoor plants - it can be odiferous.

Dried Strawberries and Scruffy Hens

As I talked about yesterday, I set the dehydrator to dry some strawberries.  It was going well until almost hour five, and then all of the sudden, the dehydrator shut down.  Uh oh.  I went over, unplugged it, and checked the strawberries. Luckily, they were done!  I decided to leave the lid on and let them cool and do any last drying overnight.

This is how they looked this morning.  Everything I'd read said they needed to be treated in order to not get all dark.  I didn't treat these, and they look fine to me!

I put them in a bowl - I found a few that weren't quite dry, so I ate them.  Not a huge yield, but they have been being snacked on all day as people wander though the kitchen.

The other notable thing of the day is my two scruffy girls - the ones who have been molting AND being picked on by the bullies in the group - are starting to regrow their feathers. 

Here's the scruffy pair - Bird Flu in the back, Poppy in the front. They are very much NOT sure why I'm trying to take pictures of them, especially when it was go outside time. Ever been eyeballed by a chicken? Now you have - they're doing it.

Here's a close up of Bird Flu's backside near her tail - when feathers come in, they come in as hollow tubes at first.  It gives them an odd look, and makes them look a bit like a cross between a chicken and a porcupine.

Yep, this is how it's supposed to look!

They're not too fond of being picked up when they're growing new feathers, either.

Another not good day - I worked from my chair for the most part.  I'll explain another day why - chalk it up to the invisible illness.

Egg count for the day - three.

Roman Numerals- Because I Can Never Remember

I do not know why I cannot remember the Roman numerals when trying to translate a date on a book or other piece of work.

I can't be the only one, so here's a chart.

Free EBooks on Sewing, Crochet, Knitting and Other Handcrafts -1/7/12

This is a list of free ebooks you can download onto Kindle, items with a Kindle app, or do like I do - keep them in your Kindle Cloud.  For today, these books are free - I make no promises they will continue to be free, so please be sure to check the listing before you hit that purchase button!

Several of these are reprints of much older books on sewing, knitting, hat making - all kinds of good stuff. Sometimes the older the book is, the better it is.

Remember, I'm just a source, not the author of any of these books. If you don't like what you're reading - stop. I have not checked any of them for accuracy- just passing them along to you.

NOTE: Some of these books could be missing necessary illustrations in the EBook form.

Sewing

Art in Needlework: A Book About Embroidery - 1900

Handbook of Embroidery - 1880

Encyclopedia of Needlework - 1875

Easy Halloween Costumes

Quilts: Their Story and How to Make Them - 1916


Knitting and Crochet

Spool Knitting - 1909

Manly Knits

The Ladies Workbook Containing Instructions in Knitting, Crochet, Point Lace, Etc - 1900s

Make Your Own Hats - 1921

Handbook of Wool Knitting and Crochet - 1918

My Knitting Book - 1843

Knitting, Crochet and Netting, with 12 Illustrations - 1846

The Ladies Album of Fancywork for 1850

The New Guide to Knitting and Crochet - 1847

Tatting

The Bath Tatting Book - 1865

Golden Stars in Tatting and Crochet - 1861

Other Crafts

The Art of Binding Books

Wood Block Printing

The Plant Lore and Garden Craft of Shakespeare

Handwork in Wood

Arts and Crafts of the Middle Ages

The Arts and Crafts Movement

Woodcraft and Camping - 1963

The Potter's Craft: A Practical Guide for the Studio and Workshop - 1910,.1922

Incredible Cardboard

Practical Duct Tape Projects

Duct Tape Bags

BAKE ALL THE THINGS!!

I am too full to finish what I was doing.

Today was bake all the things, except - I'm too full to finish the baking.

We had chili for dinner, out of the freezer. When I cook things like chili or soup, I cook a huge batch. (So the larger stockpot Daughter got me for Christmas has been a blessing already)  We have enough for that meal, a couple other meals, and the rest goes in the freezer.  If I happen to have some of the huge empty Nesquik containers on hand, it goes in there.  (These containers are great - first, it is bulk chocolate milk mix that costs the same as 1 1/2 regular sized containers from the grocery store, but instead has the content of at least five of those regular sized containers, and second, it's heavy duty plastic that holds up well to freezing again and again.)  If not, it is meal portioned up - usually 3-4 servings worth - into zippie bags.  We used to use glass jars, but too many have broken in the freezer or during the thawing process, creating a lot of waste.

So chili - and all these strawberries.  I saw something about drying strawberries on Facebook and shared it,  and since fresh strawberries were on sale, I got two containers. Added those to the two containers daughter brought home yesterday.  But not all are for drying - oh no, some are for SHORTCAKE!

So the first baking thing was the shortcake. While that baked, I cut up the strawberries - two trays filled for the dehydrator, and the rest into the large bowl for shortcake.

Yes, my grandmother taught me how to pinch off the tops.
But this way, the Chickens get a container full of treats for tomrrow!

 A bit of sugar, a splash of water, and judicious use of the potato masher, and the strawberries were ready to eat. Of course, in the process, I found out that my 20 year old potato masher is giving up. I need a new one - one of those nice, old fashioned ones like this:

 

I have no idea why I have a plastic one and not one like this already. Hmm.

Nicely baked shortcake.

So, shortcake ready, strawberries ready, strawberry slices "baking" in the food dryer -on to the next thing.

Whipped cream.

There was a partial pint of heavy whipping cream in the fridge - likely left over from daughter's fudge making at Christmas time.  It's still fine, so into the chilled steel bowl it goes.  And I'm lazy - I have the whisk, I have the hand beater, but to do whipped cream in any sort of timely manner? Electric mixer!  High speed, about 5 minutes, and the soft peaks start.  A small amount of powdered sugar for taste, and it is ready.  

On to the next thing while the chili finishes heating.  This Lemon Cake recipe that's been haunting me for weeks, begging to be tried. Lemons were purchased two days before Christmas. Then I got sick. And then I'm unmotivated.  But today - we zest the lemons!!

This is going to take a while.

The recipe calls for 1/3 of a cup of the zest. 2 lemons in, I realize this is going to take some time. And chili is ready. So I get daughter ("about time!" she says teasingly) and start serving up food, and she decides to zest a lemon.  Make that two.  Five lemons in, we're still not close. Time to eat.

Pretty daughter, zesting lemons, bemused that I'm  taking yet another picture.

A bowl of chili , and then a bowl of strawberry shortcake with real whipped later, and I'm too full to move from this chair. I mean drowsy full. I'm just managing this.

I did look it up, and the zest can be frozen. So in a minute, the zest gets covered and put in the freezer, the zested lemons in the fridge, leftovers get put away and I go at it again tomorrow.

What started as a "BAKE ALL THE THINGS" has turned into  "Bake the rest tomorrow".

And perhaps, tomorrow, we shall have cabbage rolls.

Only one egg today,  but the girls happily spent quite some time outside, and got half a cabbage cut up to share, so they are at least happy and healthy.  They are also learning that the walk through the basement to the dog run is a walk THROUGH the basement, not explore everywhere. Besides, nothing interesting to eat or peck in the basement, but there is in the garage and outside.

I did explain why they are going to the dog run, didn't I?  If not, I will tomorrow.

Screaming Squirrel

I've joined a group on Facebook about growing and raising your own food, and there was discussion of chickens as mice hunters- and the noises animals make when hunted.

It reminded me of the squirrel who likes to come on the deck, but whose favorite thing to do during warm weather is to scream at all of us.  We affectionately call her devil squirrel because of this picture:

Here she is, in full complain mode -

Winter Gardening: Tin Can Garden Redux

My pea plant was starting to get wild, so I had to move it.  Now that the Christmas tree is down (took it down on Thursday), I had both the table the tree had been on, and room.  So my first move was this:

This drying rack hadn't been used in some time, and it was just taking up space in the basement. With a little cotton yarn, this was easily converted into a growing station.  Well, this was a couple days ago and the plants are thriving in this corner of the room; the tomatoes have doubled in size!

Since i'm also starting a recycling move, I have plenty more clean empty cans - time for more plants.  I currently have two more pea plants, and four of green onions all set and ready to go.  The scene on the table got modified somewhat.

I brought out a second Ott lamp to add more light, and the large planter in the back is for the chickens.  No, I'm not growing chickens in the living room!  What is planted in there is called "Chicken Salad" a seed mix from My Pet Chicken. I won several packets of these seeds in the summer thanks to a contest run by The Chicken Chick. We planted some in the summer, and the chickens devoured the stuff.  Here's the  photo of them, younger and smaller, going to town:

The seed mix contains Dwarf Essex Rape, Purple Top Turnip, Bracco White Mustard, Forage Kale, and Landino Clover.  We have yet to let the mix grow past 6-8 weeks, as recommended on the package - maybe the next round.  I decided it was time to grow the girls some greens, for while they are getting out to peck every day, there's just not much green around here right now. And they love it.

If you're interested in trying them out for yourself, they're available at My Pet Chicken. They've got all kinds of chicken related stuff there as well, including chicken diapers!  

Today's egg count - two.  Got two yesterday as well.

EDIT:

This just came though my Facebook Feed - and what an amazing idea this is! If we'd have known, we'd have had squash that survived this year!  Hand Pollinating Squash. I figure that even though I don't have any planted yet, this line of discussion is the perfect place for it.  And yes, it's going on the "Good Things" page as well!

Useful Media of the Day - 1/5/13

Joybilee Farms shared this blog earlier today - specifically, the herbal and beekeeping parts. It's the Permaculture Media Blog- full of all kinds of good things - and free ones - on sustainable living. over 2000 Podcasts, ebooks, documentaries and videos.

Part I've found most interesting - the 100 Best Permaculture and Homesteading books.  Between this and Joybilee,  my Kindle Cloud on Amazon is getting pretty full, Time to start reading.  And yes, this is going on my "Good Things" page, so you don't have to hunt through my blog for it in the future!

Happy Reading!