Thursday, August 30, 2012

THE NEW FISH BAG







Front and back embellished with fish and star fish applique, adorned with beads, the last photo is the lining with a pocket, the second side of the lining has a cell phone pocket and a key swivel. All fabrics are good quality cotton, the bag is padded and quilted, the handles are leather.
16" x  14" x 4.5"  (ca. 41cm x 36cm x 11cm)

It has no name - any suggestions? :-)

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

FISH



Large bag with free machine quilting on pieced background, and appliqued fish on front and back, embellished with hand made yo yos and couched yarn. Zoom in...

I love fish - I mean I like to eat fish, very much so, baked, broiled, grilled. I can get fresh fish at the local market any time I want. I'll give you a recipe of cooked fish at the end of this post.

I admiringly look at the little fish swimming in the aquarium at my dentist, and - what a treat - at those fantastic ones in all sizes, shapes, textures and colors in the huge underwater aquarium in Eilat - this is a must see for everyone visiting Israel!
But now I want to talk about fish on fabric. Many times I have used fish applique on bags and boxes, and I go back to this motive again and again.


Sturdy boxes made from scratch with cardboard and hand dyed fabric, appliqued with fish.

Whenever I see fabric with fish printed on it, preferably those wonderful colored ones from the coral reefs, I will happily buy it - it feels like finding a treasure. (I like butterflies too, but that is another story!) I cut them out, use fuse-able web to iron it onto my base fabric and machine applique it with a very narrow satin stitch.

Messenger bag - appliqued fish, swimming in a sea of scrap pieced background.


Pieced fish on a little colorful Korak Quilt - the Fish Tree. The German says: "Who looks at the sky in the water, finds fish on the trees." "Wer den Himmel im Wasser betrachtet findet Fische auf den Baeumen." I made this in 2005 as a present for my husband, it graced a wall in his office for a long time.



These days I am working on another bag and I hope to finish it today. Here is a little preview. It is a tote, roomy and colorful - and pretty! 

Now to the recipe, which is typically Moroccan, and was given to me by a friend. She lives in Jerusalem and she cooks this for Passover Seder meal - and for some years already I do the same, but it is delicious all year round!

1 kg Princess of the Nile fish (Nile Perch - Tilapia - Barsch)
1 can chickpeas
1 big tomato, cubed
1 big red pepper, cubed
1 big carrot, sliced

Sauce:
1 teasp. sweet paprika powder
1 teasp. hot paprika powder
4 garlic cloves, minced
Salt
1 teasp. turmeric
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 hot water

Marinade:
lemon juice
vinegar
salt

Cut the fish into junks, mix the marinade and let the fish sit in it for some hours. Take it out, wash and dry with kitchen paper. Rinse the chick peas and drain. Place the fish in a big pot and top with the vegetable and chick peas. Mix the sauce together and pour it over the fish, bring to a boil once and then cook over low heat for half an hour or until the fish is tender. Sprinkle with a big heap of fresh chopped parsley and coriander. Serve with rice or with white bread.

Monday, August 27, 2012

THE SCREAM - SKRIK



 

This is my brother's adaption of Edvard Munch's famous image. He made it for me out of clay and I think it is pretty cool!
I wanted to buy the original, but I was sadly some dollars short of the 120 million ones, and that Mr. Black billionaire guy just snapped it away before my eyes, bidding on the telephone higher and higher at Sotheby's, till I had to give up - you should have heard my scream!! :-)
But I am fine now, I have this little statue created with my brother's loving and talented hands and I am just very happy with it! :-) - It is 28 cm high


 Thank you Matthias! HDL! :-)

THE DOG AND A BIG TOTE :-)



Monday, August 20, 2012

WATERMELON - THE BEST SUMMER FRUIT



In our house, as in most Israeli houses, there is always one fruit for sure in the fridge during summer - it is a watermelon. We buy a big one each week, and we cut it up in portions and eat it everyday. There is nothing better than cold juicy watermelon slices to savor in the heat.

Oh yes, already Nahum Guthmann, our beloved and soulful painter of life, views and issues in the Mediterranean land of plenty of fruit, knew this and documented it in one of his loveliest pictures.
The word "avatiach" watermelon today in Hebrew, is mentioned in the Bible (Numbers 11:5 - 4. Mose 11:5), when the Israelites complained about the man that fell on the dew in the morning, and remembered the good things they had to eat in Egypt, like fish, and melon, and garlic, and onion, and leek, and "avatiach". But most probably in those times the word meant cucumber, and the word is translated in all the modern Bibles as cucumber - but sure enough watermelon and cucumber belong to the same family.  I read on the Internet, that Egypt hieroglyphs depicting watermelons are found from far back as 5000 years - so maybe the Israelites ate watermelon after all in Egypt?
 
Besides the wonderful fresh and thirst quenching taste the watermelon has many nutritional properties. It is a source of Vitamins, A, C and B6, and is rich on beta carotene. Its potassium can help you prevent leg cramps. It is very watery, most of its weight is water.
Did you know that the watermelon rind is eatable too? I don't think I want to try, but in China they stir fry it with olive oil and garlic and even pickle it.
There are many watermelon recipes but we just like to eat them as they are, or with small pieces of salty cheese. One of my daughters loves to serve them as a refreshing drink, crushed in a blender, with a bit of sugar sirup and lemon, poured over a lot of ice cubes. Watermelon is given here as a summer dessert - after the barbeque, after the Shabatt dinner, and on very hot days it just will replace a meal.

Always wash your watermelon thoroughly before cutting it up. Store it in the fridge with cling wrap around it if it is already cut open. Finish it off in some days, don't store the cut up fruit too long.

Nowadays the watermelons are almost seedless. That was not always so. My husband tells me, that his grandmother would pull the seeds out of the dissected  watermelon before serving, wash and dry them, and toast them with a bit of salt in the oven. In those times, the watermelon came to the neighborhood right off the field, on a cart pulled by a horse, the seller shouting: "Avatiach, Avatiach" and people would come out of their houses and buy, no, not one or two, several at least, and as many as ten for some families with a big bunch of children, and they would store them in the shade under the trees in the garden.


Two summers ago, while on vacation here, one of my twin granddaughters copied the watermelon eater from the print on our kitchen wall for me as a gift - I love it almost more than the original! :-)


And now, after finishing this post, THAT'S my treat! :-)

Friday, August 17, 2012

YES I KNOW, THIS IS A REAL POUCH MANIA :-)


 Front
 Back

 Front
 Back
 Front
 Back


Those are all available, just contact me if you are interested.

BLACK COLORED FUNNY PRETTY TOTE :-)





 

Front and Back
Black cotton canvas - machine applique - padded - lined - one inside pocket - web straps - colored rings - 14" x 16" x 4"

Thursday, August 16, 2012

TOTE WITH BAMBOO HANDLES




I got tired of the small stuff and made a big tote. Sometimes I am so focused and wrapped up in the sewing, that I am not sure in the end that I like what I did.
I don't know about those bamboo handles - some opinion?

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

DOING NOTHING ON THE BEACH :-)



And then there was this patch! It could not be cut square. Hm... Crazy piecing was the solution, and luckily I had all the perfect "ingredients" for another little pouch. Even for the backside!

And I was thinking: that could be a plan for next Shabatt: Doing nothing on the beach!

Monday, August 13, 2012

WHAT IS LOVE?


Here are someones thoughts on love (by Taylor Mali from "What Learning Leaves") - and I LOVE those thoughts on love, a very special love. I do not know if I might post this here, so if I offended I should apologize and take this down immediately - but in the meantime please enjoy, it is so LOVEly!
 
First of all, it’s a big responsibility,
especially in a city like New York.
So think long and hard before deciding on love.
On the other hand, love gives you a sense of security:
when you’re walking down the street late at night
and you have a leash on love
ain’t no one going to mess with you.
Because crooks and muggers think love is unpredictable.
Who knows what love could do in its own defense?

On cold winter nights, love is warm.
It lies between you and lives and breathes
and makes funny noises.
Love wakes you up all hours of the night with its needs.
It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy.
Love doesn’t like being left alone for long.
But come home and love is always happy to see you.
It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life,
but you can never be mad at love for long.
Is love good all the time? No! No!
Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! Very bad love.
Love makes messes.
Love leaves you little surprises here and there.
Love needs lots of cleaning up after.
Sometimes you just want to get love fixed.
Sometimes you want to roll up a piece of newspaper
and swat love on the nose,
not so much to cause pain,
just to let love know Don’t you ever do that again!
Sometimes love just wants to go out for a nice long walk.
Because love loves exercise. It will run you around the block
and leave you panting, breathless. Pull you in different directions
at once, or wind itself around and around you
until you’re all wound up and you cannot move.
But love makes you meet people wherever you go.
People who have nothing in common but love
stop and talk to each other on the street.
Throw things away and love will bring them back,
again, and again, and again.
But most of all, love needs love, lots of it.
And in return, love loves you and never stops.

 How Falling in Love is like Owning a Dog
Taylor Mali

Saturday, August 11, 2012

ARTIST STATEMENT




TPF Faerie Wear's photo 
Open the "photo" link, the comments are very interesting. What do you think?

Thursday, August 9, 2012

VACATION TIME










As you can see in the last photos, Dafi is not so keen to go for a walk in the afternoon - it is still soooooo hot! :-)