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| On Thu, 24 Jul 2003 11:15:59 -0300, "Katherine Burgess" wrote:

(Did that work as an explanation???)

Works for me, and your garden probably missed you, anyway.

According to the latest forecast, the rain has been delayed until Saturday,
so I will get another day outside. Considering the length of our winters, I
really MUST soak up all the outdoor air I can while it will not freeze my
lungs. g
Luckily, there is nothing I desperately need in my luggage.
Katherine

I assume you've already unpacked your knitting.

Speaking of soaking up outdoor air. It's so nice here, today, that I've
opened all the windows and set the attic fan going to pull that fresh air
into the house. Lovely!

I did need to do laundry, so while I was at it, I tried that felting trick
Els was talking about. What fun! I've made a pile of little, round, felt,
"cookies" out of wool combing waste and run the first of them through the
laundry with a load to firm it up a bit and see if it stayed nicely round.
It did, so the next load of laundry will have more of them in with it. I
don't want to wear out my hand, so I'll probably just make a few each wash
day until I have enough to put together into a felt "yo-yo" vest. I'm not
quite decided as to how I want to join then, but free-form crochet is
suggesting itself strongly.

Couldn't resist trying it on a bit of dryer lint, too, but the results were
not impressive. Too much cotton and not enough cat hair so it's more
like really ugly paper than felt.



Helen "Halla" Fleischer,
Fantasy & Fiber Artist in Fairland, MD USA
http://home.covad.net/~drgandalf/halla/

Helen I usually cook it like you say - before I went to America I used to
boil it with all husk removed but then I went to Maine and had their lobster
served with the corn cooked with the husks on and I still drool over the
memory.

Keeping the corn a few days does not work either - really the problem is
that it is too hard - it would seem to me that it is left to ripen too
long -and as i said by that time better for the parrots.

However our tinned corn is great and I use it a lot but nothing can beat
corn on the cob - and I do not need the butter etc either !

Thanks for the tips Helen God Bless Gwen

--

Gwen Kelly


"Helen "Halla" Fleischer" wrote in message
...
| On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 20:40:53 -0700, (Els van
Dam) wrote:

Gwen we have the last 10 years or so a new variety of corn....called
peaches and cream, and to honest with you I do find it way to sweer, I
like the old varieties much better. They had a bit more character, and
were not so overly sweet

Costco now sells that variety as frozen kernels. In that form it's sweet
but not overwhelmingly so, and a wonderful addition to corn bread. I just
read in an article that the super-sweet varieties don't start to break
their sugars down into starch until 3-7 days after harvesting. Maybe if
you
hold the ears you buy for a couple of days before you cook them, you can
get something more like you remember. My trick for having more corn taste
is to cook the ears with the husks mostly on. I just remove the outermost
husk, peel back the rest just enough to remove the worst of the silk, and
trim off any worm damage, then push it back in place and zap 2- 4 ears for
4-6 minutes, total, in the microwave. That's just enough to heat them
through, with the husk on. To eat, just peel back the husk and use that as
a handle. What's left of the silk comes off much more easily after it's
cooked. I don't bother with butter or salt, but DH still uses both. I've
become a real purist about not messing with the corn flavor as I age.
Cooking in the husk really enhances it. I think boiling leaches it away,
leaving only that sweetness.


Helen "Halla" Fleischer,
Fantasy & Fiber Artist in Fairland, MD USA
http://home.covad.net/~drgandalf/halla/

| On Fri, 25 Jul 2003 01:21:22 GMT, "G.Kelly" wrote:

Helen I usually cook it like you say - before I went to America I used to
boil it with all husk removed but then I went to Maine and had their lobster
served with the corn cooked with the husks on and I still drool over the
memory.

It's heaven and in the micro it cooks so quickly that it's never dry or
tough. Trick is not to over-cook it of course.

Keeping the corn a few days does not work either - really the problem is
that it is too hard - it would seem to me that it is left to ripen too
long -and as i said by that time better for the parrots.

No, that would only work for those who find the new varieties too sweet.
Quite the opposite of your problem!

However our tinned corn is great and I use it a lot but nothing can beat
corn on the cob - and I do not need the butter etc either !

Fresh is always best!


Helen "Halla" Fleischer,
Fantasy & Fiber Artist in Fairland, MD USA
http://home.covad.net/~drgandalf/halla/

In article , "G.Kelly"
wrote:

Els it does rather sound like Katherine has made a good excuse but I for one
cannot blame her. When we used to return after our year away we had a real
mega job of unpacking - we travel very light but we had to unpack all out
furniture and belongings which we would pack away before we left so that we
could rent our house. I did that for six trips but will never do it again
! Enjoy the weather Katherine and unpack later **!!@@@ Love and God
Bless Gwen

hummmmmm that is two agains one, i better come for the walk in the sun
after al....

Els who alsways unpacks right away...well nearly always.....Ok Ok....

Els

--
delete doba to email me.....:=))

Forcing this back to fiber, has anyone tried the new spinning fiber made
from corn, called Ingeo? I bought some at MD sheep & wool but haven't spun
it yet. Bought soy silk, too. I love that these fibers are made from the
leftovers of food production. Waste not, want not!

I have not seen or tried it yet, but a weaving and spinning friend here
has, and she found that the corn silk would not be dyed easely. So I
asked what part of the plant the silk came from and she did not know, do
you know Helen.

I have not tried the soy silk either, I am very allergic to soy products,
neat to be able to spin with it without getting sick. You have no idea
how many foods are prepared with soy oil and it is not listed on the label
of the package. Oh well, making most of your own food from scrach is a
good way sailing around that one, but sometimes it is nice to just not
have to worry about it and eat that cookie or cracker. chocolate, or
icecream the list is endless.

Els


Helen "Halla" Fleischer,
Fantasy & Fiber Artist in Fairland, MD USA
http://home.covad.net/~drgandalf/halla/

--
delete doba to email me.....:=))

In article , "G.Kelly"
wrote:

Helen let us know how this fibre works out and what you do with it - I love
the waste not things.
In Tofino BC I saw jackets made form the fibre made from plastic bottles -
and this continues to amaze me - they just looked and felt like any warm
polyester type jacket God Bless Gwen

Oh yes Gwen, fibers made from old pop bottles is like a man made fiber. I
friend here could not wear wool so she though she would buy some of that
new fiber.....she ended up with a bale of the stuff and is now in business
selling it, She dyes it and cards it and sells it to spinner. You can
blend it in with wool for sock yarn etc etc etc. I have not worked with
it, but many of or Guild members swear by it. The correct name of it has
slipped my mind.

Els

--
delete doba to email me.....:=))

| On Fri, 25 Jul 2003 01:26:33 GMT, "G.Kelly" wrote:

Helen let us know how this fibre works out and what you do with it - I love
the waste not things.
In Tofino BC I saw jackets made form the fibre made from plastic bottles -
and this continues to amaze me - they just looked and felt like any warm
polyester type jacket God Bless Gwen

Quite a lot of the fleece type polyester is made from recycled bottles, I
understand. I find it amazing. I really should clear off a bobbin so I can
give that stuff a try. I bought some soy silk and some tencel at the same
time and haven't tried that either. Been more into knitting than spinning
this year.


Helen "Halla" Fleischer,
Fantasy & Fiber Artist in Fairland, MD USA
http://home.covad.net/~drgandalf/halla/

| On Thu, 24 Jul 2003 20:51:01 -0700, (Els van Dam) wrote:

I have not seen or tried it yet, but a weaving and spinning friend here
has, and she found that the corn silk would not be dyed easely. So I
asked what part of the plant the silk came from and she did not know, do
you know Helen.

A would assume that the corn fiber would be cellulose, but I have been
told that the soy stuff is a protein fiber and dyes with acid. There may be
web info on it, but the info page I got when I bought it didn't specify on
the corn.

I have not tried the soy silk either, I am very allergic to soy products,
neat to be able to spin with it without getting sick. You have no idea
how many foods are prepared with soy oil and it is not listed on the label
of the package. Oh well, making most of your own food from scrach is a
good way sailing around that one, but sometimes it is nice to just not
have to worry about it and eat that cookie or cracker. chocolate, or
icecream the list is endless.

Oh, I have a glimmer of an idea! There was a gal in my old machine knitting
group who was very allergic to soy. It was very tricky to bring pot luck
that she could eat. Even things that just say "vegetable oil" have to be
suspected. If I made butter cookies I would scour the cookie sheet first to
get off any residue of no-stick spray, in case it had soy oil in it. I'm
very glad I don't have that particular food problem. Coping with avoiding
migraine triggers is about as much as I want to deal with.


Helen "Halla" Fleischer,
Fantasy & Fiber Artist in Fairland, MD USA
http://home.covad.net/~drgandalf/halla/

Els,
I never thought about all the things which contain soy. On the bright side,
it will prevent you from eating too much junk - cookies and ice cream. g
Katherine

"Els van Dam" wrote
"Katherine Burgess" wrote:


Well, no, not really! I just don't see any point in wasting a beautiful
day
on staying indoors and sorting through suitcases. g It will rain on
Friday, and I can do it then.
Katherine
(Did that work as an explanation???)

Only if it rains buckets on Friday.......LOL

Well, it IS raining! So here I am, indoors, and about to go upstairs and
start unpacking.
Wish me luck.
Katherine