Hairapy

So, one of our customers came in last week to buy some recycled silk and some silk thrum for a "project." As it turns out, her project was her hair! She felt that she had done too much damage to her hair with coloring and wanted to take a break without looking too dull. She found someone who is an expert at braiding and off she went! Isn't that the coolest thing!!! It will stay in for about 3 months! Maybe this will be the next big fiber trend - Silky Locks!!

Speaking of hair, mine is turning yet another color. When it first started coming back in it was very silver and curly but now it is starting to turn more mousy brown and relaxed. I'm going to wait it out for a few more months to see what happens next before I go in for any color enhancement. (For those of you who haven't known me too long, before chemo my hair was straight and blonde!!) I'm diggin' the short hair for now. :-)

Deb

Darjeeling, the Champagne of Teas

Darjeeling is my favorite morning tea. It is light and delicate and steeps to a beautiful amber color. Darjeeling is also a breathtaking place to visit. I haven't been there yet but I plan to one day. As I was sitting here enjoying my morning cup of Darjeeling, I thought I would write up a little something about this wonderful tea.

Commercial tea growing in the Darjeeling region began in the mid 1800's by the British. Today there are 86 running gardens producing ‘Darjeeling Tea’ on a total area of 19,000 hectares. When you buy Darjeeling tea, by law it must be grown in that region and that region only - kind of like how Champagne is ONLY from the Champagne region in France.

I took the following information from darjeelingtea.com: "There are both scientific as well as religious beliefs behind why Darjeeling is the most suitable place to grow tea. The local people believe that the Himalayan range is the abode of Shanker Mahadeva and the breath of God brings winds that cool the brow of the sun filled valley, and the mist and fog which provide the moisture. The fountain that flows from the piled head of Shiva provides water for crops and it thrives." Isn't that romantic!


The flavours of Darjeeling Tea differ from season to season. According to the plucking period, the seasons can be categorised as under: -

Easter Flush (March - April) :
It arrives just after the dormant Winter months. The leaves are tender and very light green in appearance. The liquor too is light, clear, bright and imparts a pleasant brisk flavour

Spring Flush (May - June) :
This flush is famed for its prominent quality. The leaf has a purplish bloom. The liquor is more round, mellow and with more colour (amber) and has a slightly fruity flavour. It is during this period that the famous “Muscatel” flavour becomes pronounced.

Summer Flush (July - September) :
During this period the nature of the liquor changes, becoming stronger, yet retaining the brightness and character that Darjeeling is known for.

Autumn Flush (October - November) :
The Tea during this period has a light coppery tinge and liquors have a delicate character.

Winter Months (December - February) :
Dormant period with no production.

Right now in our shop we have a wonderful Spring flush supply (often referred to as a "second flush"). Last year we had an Easter or first flush that was really delightful but I couldn't get any this year - it wasn't a good flush in many of the gardens. Like wine, tea has good and not so good years due to rain and other factors. The Spring flush we have now is from a good year. Come on in and enjoy a cup.

Deb

Saturday thoughts

This past Saturday in the shop I had some nice things happen. (Not that nice things don't happen often....) First, some of the usual suspects where in a little early, enjoying a cup of tea. When I went over to say hi I noticed that they were drinking out of some very special bone china mugs and my heart went all aflutter. Several weeks ago I was going through some of my dad's old boxes and I found some of my mom's old china cups and decided to bring them in to the shop. These mugs hung from a rack in our kitchen when I was growing up and I looked at them every time I did the dishes. My mom loved them but, of course, never used them! I lost my mom when I was only 16 and often think of how much she would love this shop and I know that she would have been thrilled to see her beautiful mugs being used by people who were happy to be together.


The other nice story was passed on to me by our friend Roger. Roger lives in Renton and takes the bus all the way up here to sit and knit. He told us that when the bus gets close to the stop out front, the bus driver always announces: " Village Yarn & Tea Shop next." Okay, so that may not seem like such a great story but I thought it was very cool! We are a bus stop! I guess I'm easily amused.

And, to top it off, I finished my Falling Leaves Shawl!! I brought it in this morning to block. It took 4 skeins of Koigu for the small version and I only used about 1/3 of the fourth skein. It was really fun and easy to do; I just couldn't work on it if I was chatting too much or watching a movie with subtitles. :-)

Deb

UPDATE: D'oh! Thanks for reminding me about the fabulous cheese n' chocolate fest! Sharon brought us incredibly edible cheddar (say that 3 times fast) and chocos from her trip to London! Thanks again Sharon!

Silky things, Oh My!

The latest order of hand-dyed Sea Silk from Hand Maiden - Fleece Artist has arrived along with some new Silken - 100% Silk in 100g skeins, DK weight. Victoria immediatly took some of the Silken home and made this beautiful lacy thong from interweaveknits.com (under free patterns). We couldn't get her to model it!


We also received our kiddie tea sets for the summer and some cute teaware just in time for Mother's Day.

I'm so excited because I only have a few more rows to go on my Falling Leaves shawl and it will be ready for blocking!! I promise to post pictures when it's ready for viewing. For all of you that haven't tried lace yet - this is a great beginning pattern. Oh, and some of the Skacel Lace needles finally arrived!! Get 'em while their hot!

Deb

Making Oolong

I was just reading another great article in my Tea & Coffee trade mag about the making of tea. It is amazing the amount of human labor that goes in to making tea - good or bad - and what a great deal we get when we buy it! Making really good tea is very labor intensive and takes a great deal of knowledge to do it right. When you see some of the higher quality teas going for upwards of $250 per kilo, it has a great deal to do with the process, not just the flavor and aroma.


Oolong is considered the fussiest of teas to produce. Here is a quick lesson in how a tea is catagorized: green and (most) white teas are not oxidized; black teas are fully oxidized. Oolongs fall in the middle and are only partially oxidized - this is where the skill is needed to know when the tea is at the right oxidation stage.

The process of making the tea goes something like this:
1] leaves are plucked and scattered over large flat basket trays to wither a bit
2] leaves are tossed BY HAND to "bruise" the edges. The amount of bruising is important; too much and you expose too much of the leaf to oxidation. There are several resting periods between tosses. This part of the process can take 7 hours or more!
3] the leaves then go into a bamboo rolling tumbler for more bruising. This is when the experts come in to check on the amount of bruising to determine if the leaves are ready for the next step. Now we're talking 16 hours into the process.
4] more resting for the leaves (and workers, I imagine).
5] now the leaves are ready to be dried - this stops the oxidation process - and about 50% of the moisture has been removed. This is the rolling stage.

More sorting and stabilizing happens until it is finally stable and ready for drinking. A very long and involved process!


Picture this: One person in one day plucks 12 - 15 kilograms of fresh leaves; five kilos of fresh leaves make one kilo of finished oolong; 10 kilos of withered tea gets two and a half kilos of tea to the rolling stage. (1 Kilo is just over 35 ounces; that will make about 450 cups at the American taste level - i.e. weaker than most Asian drinkers.) And remember, most of the pluckers are women!

Enjoy your next cup of tea!
Deb

Things that make you go Ahhhhh

This past Knit Nite we had another visit from the good Dr. Porter. Alexandra Porter is a naturopathic doctor and massage therapist who is kind enough to come by the shop with her chair to offer massages for our guests and I gotta tell ya, she's good! If you have been coming to our Knit Nites for a while you might have had a massage from another one of our friends, Guenivere Amadeo, LMP - also fabulous! They both have that special touch. If you are interested in seeing either of these amazing women privately, contact the shop and we'll give you their contact information. Alexandra is currently running a Spring Massage Special: Purchase 5 massage sessions for $250 ($75 savings) OR $65/session or $80 for 90 minutes. Refer 5 people and get on massage FREE!

Having a massage therapist on site is just one of the many perks of Knit Nite. There is also that great energy that seems to just float around the shop and give everyone a boost. And of course, the free tea and goodies. :-)

Deb

Boxes, boxes everywhere...

We just received the latest shipment of Sea Wool sock kits from Fleece Artist. The new spring colors are glorious! (I can't decide between the red or the peachy-pink or the greeny-blue.....). We also have more Breast Cancer Wristband kits made up. If you haven't had a chance to make a couple of wristbands yet, come on by and pick up your kit and the super-easy directions. We also have new colors of Tahki Cotton Classic to look at; the soft stitch markers from Clover finally arrived; and the cable holders everyone has been waiting for are here.

A few days ago we received the remainder of our Spring order of Noro Silk Garden. Have I mentioned how much I love Noro?! It sometimes takes forever to get all the colors in but I always think it's worth the wait. I've been designing crochet patterns for the past couple of years and I always seem to use a Noro yarn!

Deb

Thursday mornings

My OTHER favorite time at the shop is Thursday morning. Shortly after we opened, some women started coming to the shop on Thursday mornings - not together but on their own. One of these women - Blanche Niznik - invited one of the other women who was sitting alone to join her at her table. From that day forward, everytime someone appeared at the shop on Thursday morning they were invited to sit with "the ladies." The group has grown and grown; all ages, all levels of knitters. We even have a baby! They entertain each other, they support each other in times of need, they drink tea and eat my fresh baked scones. This morning we even got a phone call from one of the Thursday morning gang that moved to Idaho!

If you've been to the shop, you have seen some of Blanche's other handywork - her paintings. She has been providing us with her beautiful oils and pastels since the very beginning. One of the other members of the Thursday morning group is Anne Turner - she makes beautiful beads and orifice hooks for the shop.

I know that, no matter how tough my week has been, the Thursday morning group will raise my spirits, give me a hug, or whatever else I need to make my day go better.

Deb

The Ice Machine Cometh

Our old ice machine (Wilbur) gave up the ghost so we had to buy a new one. Now, we liked our ol' Wilbur - so named because of the piggy noises that he use to make - and will miss his little idiosyncracies. The NEW machine is prettier and quiter but missing that little spark, that touch of individuallity that good ol' Wilbur had. We haven't named the new machine yet but we are certain she is a girl. :-)

Changing the subject just a bit.... This Friday is Knit Nite and our theme is "Show & Tell." Bring in your favorite or most recent or most perplexing project to share with the group. Here is a photo of my latest (completed) project - a Fleece Artist Stretto Poncho. I just love those colors! It was fun and easy to do. We still have some kits left so be sure to take a look next time you drop by.

Deb