Homage to Honesty.

Have you ever had one of those weeks?

You know, the ones where you have a ton of friends and family in town, doing renovations for the elders and celebrating birthdays. And there’s a giant waterslide/bounce house in your driveway with a dozen kids running in and out, leaving puddles everywhere. It is loud, yet wonderful. And in the slivers of quiet moments, you work on your knitting–trying to meet a deadline… a deadline you told everyone to “mark the calendars” for. And you’ve been practicing shrinking wool for like eight months now, and you’re so excited that you THINK you’ve perfected it. Your mom (the master at it) offers to help finish shrinking a couple of dolls that you still have left to do. And she super-shrinks it (which is what you wanted!), but you realize that the waist is a good inch smaller than your other dolls (which may as well be a mile). And that’s fine and dandy. But, you’ve already jointed all your other dolls, which now must be cut apart and shrunken more. Oh, and don’t forget that you made 27 dresses for them. TWENTY SEVEN. And it won’t work, because you wanted to give people an option to purchase different outfits for the dolls–which means that they’d all have to be the same size. And so here you are, a 29-year-old woman, crying into doll dresses…

Homage to Honesty The Out of the Thistle Blog

… and you’re cursing your ambition and praying for sanity. And you’re thinking that working in customer service at the bank doesn’t seem so bad now. That maybe, handling dental insurance claims was just a walk in the park.

And when you pull it together after going through the seven stages of grief with your tiny knitted dolls, you begin to amputate those limbs and get back to work. Because, it’s what you truly love to do.

Homage to Honest The Out of the Thistle Blog

Then you pour yourself another cup of coffee, eat birthday cake for breakfast, and pray that it won’t be another year before you get these done. And you share your experience and honesty with other ‘Purveyors of Perfection’ and hope that they’ll have a good laugh, maybe even sympathize. That they’ll understand the strife in striving for better, in knowing that settling is not an option. And now you’re truly understanding that being a ‘maker’ is so much more than just “making.”

Sincerely, Rhonda

 

Flowery foodie goodness.

What’s not to love about flowers? They look beautiful lining a pathway, sitting in a jar on the windowsill, or even printed onto fabrics. Another great thing: some flowers are edible! We just love the idea of having a lovely little salad that is dotted with Johnny Jump Ups, or using blackberry blossoms to garnish a cake.

Out of the Thistle Blog, Flowery Foodie GoodnessSo in celebration of some of these delicious florals, we’ve tested a few recipes that have become our favorites.

Out of the Thistle Blog, Flowery Foodie Goodness

1. Raspberry & Rose flavored Floral Ice Pops
Recipe via Chew Town (Makes 10)

4 cups water
Various edible flowers (petals retained)
1 tablespoon Raspberry and Rose cordial
Popsicle Mold

Place petals inside the popsicle molds being sure to layer them on top of each other and not compact them.

Mix water and cordial in a large jug and stir well to combine.

Gently pour the cordial mixture into the popsicle molds trying not to unseat the petals too much. Insert popsicle sticks and place in the freezer until frozen solid.

To remove from the molds gently place bottom of molds in warm water until the popsicles pull free.

Out of the Thistle Blog, Flowery Foodie Goodness.

These popsicles make the perfect frozen treat for any spring or summer soiree!

Out of the Thistle Blog, Flowery Foodie Goodness

 

Out of the Thistle Blog, Flowery Foodie Goodness

2. Lovely Little Lollies
Recipe via Sprinkle Bakes
Yield: 10 lollipops

2 cups sugar
2/3 cup corn syrup
2/3 cup water
1 dram bottle candy flavoring oil (such as LorAnn, I used Blackberry)
Violet gel food coloring
10 organic whole voila flower heads or pansy petals, washed and patted dry
10 lollipop sticks
    1. If you are using a lollipop mold (recommended), lightly grease it with cooking spray.  If you are not using a mold, pour 2 cups of powdered sugar into a baking pan with a lip.  Create indentations with the bottom of a glass or other flat-bottomed object. Set aside.
    2. Stir together the sugar, corn syrup and water in a small saucepan and clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.
    3. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.  Continue to heat without stirring until the bubbling mixture reaches the hard-crack stage (302 degrees F). Remove pan from heat.
    4. Stir in flavoring oil and a small amount of gel food coloring. Be extra careful because the mixture will bubble and sputter with these additions.
    5. When the mixture has stopped bubbling, drop it into molds by the spoonfuls (or powdered sugar indentations) using a metal spoon. Carefully place a viola flower head or petal face down on the hot candy. Use the end of a lollipop stick to slightly press it into the candy.  Quickly pour just enough hot candy over the flower head or petal to cover the backside, encasing it completely in the candy.  Place a lollipop stick in the candy and turn 1/2 turn.  Allow the candy to harden, then remove from molds.  If using powdered sugar to mold, you may choose to rinse off the excess sugar under a thin stream of warm water – either way, the flower will become more visible once the lollipop is being enjoyed.

TIP: WORK AS FAST AS YOUR LITTLE HANDS CAN MOVE. The candy mixture cools VERY quickly.

 

 

Out of the Thistle Blog, Flowery Foodie Goodness

3. Blossoms and Berries Ice Cubes

4 Quarts of Distilled Water
Arrangement of Organic Edible Flowers, Berries, Mint Leaves
Ice Cube Tray

Boil distilled water and allow to cool completely.

Pour water into trays, filling molds halfway. Place flowers, berries, and mint in each cube and place tray in freezer. Once completely frozen, fill each cube with the rest of the cooled, boiled water and continue to freeze completely. Fill up your cups and enjoy!

Out of the Thistle Blog, Flowery Foodie Goodness.

And once your ice melts, you’ll have pretty little blossoms floating around in your beverage.

Out of the Thistle Blog, Flowery Foodie Goodness.

 

 

Out of the Thistle Blog, Flowery Foodie Goodness

 

4. Limoncello Lavender Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from here!

Yield: 12-18 Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons limoncello
½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon crushed, dried lavendar (optional)
Dried lavender sprigs for garnish

For the lemon curd:
Zest of 2 lemons
½ cup lemon juice
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk

For the limoncello buttercream:
1/2 stick butter
6 oz cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons limoncello

Beat softened butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add the limoncello and beat until well mixed. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Alternately add flour and buttermilk to butter mixture. Mix in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and crushed lavender just until combined. Pour into prepared cupcake pans, about 3/4 full and bake at 325 for about 17 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

For curd: Mix lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar of medium heat until boiling. Whisk egg and egg yolk. Whisk lemon mixture into eggs off the heat (to temper). Add all back to sauce pan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened. Cool completely.

Use a melon baller to scoop a hole into tops of cooled cupcakes. Fill with cooled lemon curd

For buttercream: Beat butter and cream cheese. Add limoncello and beat until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar until desired icing consistency is obtained. Ice filled cupcakes. Garnish with dried lavender.

Now, inhale!

Also, don’t do as we did and forget to add the sugar–one of the most important ingredients! The first batch was the equivalent of lemony, unsweetened cornbread, hah!

Out of the Thistle Blog, Flowery Foodie Goodness.

We hope you enjoyed this bevy of blossom-decorated recipes! Just remember to be sure to verify which flowers are edible and safe to use, and we recommend using only organically grown flowers. Enjoy!

-The Out of the Thistle™ Company

A Shrunken Wool Trio.

Like many of you, we have been enjoying being outdoors in the warm sunshine. In the (less) amount of time we’ve spent indoors, we have continued to keep our creating hands busy. We’ve had inquiries as to when we are going to be offering some new items, so we are here to announce to everyone that our target date for launching the new website will be July 1st! Mark your calendar!

In the meantime, here’s a couple of items you can keep an eye out for ahead of time–created by the hands of Sue Aucoin! And be sure to check back soon for some fun blog posts as well!

Shrunken wool trio crocheted artist dolls and bears Out of the Thistle Blog outofthethistle

Shrunken wool duo crocheted artist dolls and bears Out of the Thistle Blog outofthethistle

 

 

Provisional patterns.

With the big changes in this company’s name and appearance, we have also decided to step even further from our old ‘image.’

There was a time when our first designs were new and unusual, but through the years, were duplicated so much that they just became usual. In light of this, we have decided to indefinitely retire our thread crochet patterns numbers 6-14. As you can see from the patterns below, they are in desperate need of updating!
 
 We may bring them back promotionally, eventually. Those that have purchased these patterns, please note that they are still protected by copyright laws, which will be enforced. For now, we would like to continue to differentiate our products and our business.

These patterns will be available for purchase until Mid-May.
Thank you!

-Out of the Thistle Co.

Out of the Thistle

Out of the thistle our business has come,
Sick and tired of being overrun.
It tried to bloom where its seed was sown
While at the same time the weeds had grown.

The thistle had grown so dense and entangled
That everything they touched was choked-out or mangled.
Passersby who would see the weed-ridden field
Would know of no blossoms that were being concealed;
They would be distracted by the bright red plumes,
Ignoring all the thorns and spines that loomed.

So for this business to bloom and expand
It has been decided that it needs a new brand.
Our previous name was abused and polluted,
So by the Hand of God we are being up-rooted.

In picking a new name our business is resurrected
And getting new life in soil uninfected.
So with a whoop and a holler and a cheer and a whistle,
We couldn’t be happier to come out of the thistle.

We appreciate your patience while we make all the changes! You can still follow us on all social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram under the new name! We are also still the title owners of the Thread Teds by Thread Bears® mark and will continue to use it.

 

A Pair of Hares.

If you are like me you are probably shocked that Easter has somehow snuck up on you, that it is in TWO WEEKS. I’m pretty sure that it was January last week, so how did this happen??

Lucky for you, we’re giving you a heads up! If you knit and like giving one-of-a-kind gifts, then our “Claire the Hare” PDF knitting pattern is right up your alley. It’s available on our website, on Ravelry, and on Etsy (all of these links can be found to the right of this post).

If knitting isn’t your thing and you still love giving one-of-a-kind gifts, then these are for you! I have created a few rabbits using my pattern and they are available for purchase!

Instead of wearing the knitted overall dress, they are dressed in a couple of short-and-shirt outfits I created specifically for them. These took some time to make, especially sewing these tiny little shorts! But I just love the way they turned out.

Rhonda Potteet "Claire the Hare" doll

This first little bunny is wearing cotton, jade-colored high-waist shorts with a crisp floral, lace-trimmed tank top tucked in.

IMG_1294 Rhonda Potteet Claire the Hare doll

The shirt was sewn using a high-quality Liberty of London cotton. She was hand knitted from 100% wool and has a wool embroidered face.

This second little rabbit was also hand knitted from 100% wool, with a wool embroidered face.

Rhonda Potteet Claire the Hare doll

Rhonda Potteet Claire the Hare dollI designed and knitted her flutter-sleeve tank using 100% pure virgin wool. She is also wearing bubble shorts that were sewn using a high-quality Liberty of London cotton.

IMG_1213

If you are interested in purchasing one of these bunnies, please feel free to contact me privately for details via email. rhondapotteet[at]gmail[dot]com

Happy Easter!
Rhonda Potteet