Elephant squash, applesauce and Spinzilla

So my task this morning was to bake my Hubbard squash--affectionately known as Elephant Squash (see photo)--and freeze it, make applesauce and write the blog.

Step 1: Turn on the oven, get the roasting pan ready.
Step 2: Slice open the squash. Ha! I had to take the meat cleaver to the darn thing, then sweep up all the squash bits that flew around the kitchen counter. I kid you not, these babies have thick skin!
Step 3: Remove seeds, set half the squash in the baking pan, add hot water, roast for an hour (repeat with second half), cool, scrap out golden pulp and pack in freezer containers. Yep, pie for Thanksgiving!

"The question is, are we happy to suppose that our grandchildren may never be able to see an elephant except in a picture book?"

David Attenborough

 

I just had to throw that in there as a reminder of our shrinking wildlife and reckless handling of Mother Earth.

Applesauce is easier. Wash eighteen apples, quarter them, remove the core/seeds. Cut them in chunks into a big soup pot--yes, I include the skins; a Pa Dutch lady told me that the red skins will 'pink up' the applesauce, and it does! Sprinkle apples with a bit of salt, add 3 cups boiling water and simmer for 20-30 minutes till soft (you need to stir them once or twice because the lower apples will cook and leave the top apples still crisp). Run the mess through a food mill. Transfer back to the pot, add sugar/cinnamon/nutmeg/my secret ingredient. Have your canning jars & lids ready, heat the mess and fill the jars. Wait for the lids to pop, meaning that the vacuum seal is complete. Try to keep the applesauce a secret from your youngest son, who will devour a quart in one sitting.


























And my Spinzilla 2014 total--4,870 yards (2.75 miles!) of handspun yarn in 7 days. Now I just have to wash it and find a use for all that mileage.

Good food, good luck and happy spinning to one and all.

Another gradient shawlette and recent activities

And just for the fun of it, and because I try to include a couple photos in each post, here's the second gradient yarn that I carded, spun and knit into another shawlette. I'm happy with the design I created and I like the size and drape. There's one darker green line that I wish wasn't there, but spinning from a batt of Merino isn't a precise science and these things happen.

 

I'm not sure I mentioned this before, but I have an article in the latest PLY magazine. I arranged a fiber challenge for our guild two years ago and we had a blast, learning and stretching our skills. So I wrote an article describing our challenge and giving suggestions for designing your own challenge, whether for your guild or your fiber buddies or just for yourself. You should check it out. The entire issue is packed with good stuff.

I've also been helping a new weaver understand her loom and refreshing her warping and weaving skills. What fun it's been! And she has an art degree and understands when I talk color theory or we get going on European artists--I know who she's talking about and which painting she's referencing. It's been so lovely teaching her.

Spinzilla Report: I'm closing in on 3,000 yards with two days left to spin. Can I make 5,000 yards? Go Team Darn Yarn Harmony!