Skinny Woven Accessories

Three skinny woven belts, bracelets, headbands, necklaces, etc. 

Getting the last goodies in the shop for the holidays!

Thank you Pittsburgh!

What a warm and wonderful Pittsburgh reception! Those burgh-ers know how to support the crafting community :) I think this was my largest display yet- complete with fragrant rosemary Christmas tree and vintage Donegal tweed stockings!

And this Christmas cactus was blooming for me upon my return. First time it has ever bloomed in over 5 years under my care/neglect!

Craft Shows this Weekend!

Saturday and Sunday !

Black Friday/Cyber Monday!

Albert modeling my latest custom work for an awesome dude in the UK. This scarf is 9 feet long!

26 new scarves are officially up in the shop! It's been a productive past few weeks and I've got the calluses on my hands from weaving to prove it!

I feel as though I am blasting my mini circle of followers with this information (sorry for the bombardment) - get free shipping 11/23-11/26 using coupon code: HOLIDAYS2012 in the shop. I've finally gotten twitter (@hellopidgepidge) and instagram (hellopidgepidge) and have spent the week trying to keep up with all of this social media. How do people do it? By having a smart phone for starters, I suppose. I borrow this guy's iphone to write tweets and snap photos. Now I just need to learn to keep my hashtags and @ thingies straight. Welcome to 2010, Vanessa!

Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Market this weekend!

I've been winding dozens of bobbins all morning to prepare for the next batch of scarves to weave. Renegade Handmade is having their first holiday market in Brooklyn, NY this weekend and I will be there with lots of brand spankin new scarves (plus infinity scarves)!

Warming up

Craft season and chilly weather is rapidly approaching! I know this because I am weaving like crazy and wearing socks while I do it :)
Another short post- here's a link to makeably's blog where they featured pidge pidge. I've been making custom scarves more frequently this year and love the chance to interact more with my shoppers.

Recent score- two new warping yarn cones in flax and sky blue. They are both organic cotton!

new online marketplace!

So excited to share pidge pidge news.. I'm part of a new online marketplace called makeably designed exclusively for custom made products- including custom made scarves! More details soon- the site officially launched yesterday and I can't wait to tell you all more about it. Here's a link to my page!

Sorry for the short post! Basking in the California sunshine for our beautiful friends' wedding and will be back to reality next week :)

Commission Show and Tell

August has been a month of commissions! Check out 2 custom scarf designs for some lovely ladies in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

This scarf had fiber restrictions due to an allergy. I was able to find a beautiful palette of colors in my yarn stash to accommodate my client's material preferences. 

Potato and Corn Pizza Recipe

I love grilled pizza- perfect for summer because it cooks quickly and you don't need the oven on in the kitchen!

However, if you're lucky enough to be vacationing for a few days on the NJ shore with great friends, air conditioning makes all things possible. Your favorite pizza dough recipe will work (pre-made dough is fine too!). Here are links for 2 recipes I use frequently: when I feel like kneading- 

http://content.markbittman.com/node/176 and when I don't-  http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/03/jim-laheys-no-knead-pizza-dough-recipe.html

The quantities for ingredients are flexible, depending on how many pizzas you are making. In our kitchen, we like to make a few small pizzas and experiment with toppings. Last week, our friend Dan was the pizza master. Together we worked out 8 different topping combos with the rest of the house and Dan taught me a new method of shaping the dough.

This was my vote for favorite pizza. Thin slices of potato crisp up beautifully and a squeeze of lemon really

brightens things up. Garlic scapes lend a mild garlic flavor and a sprinkling of green. They are sadly no longer in season, but you may still have a few bunches in the fridge- I know I do! No worries if you are out- substitute thinly sliced garlic or scallions.

Red Potato, Scape and Fresh Corn Pizza

Ingredients:

several small red potatoes, sliced very thinly 

1 bunch of garlic scapes or scallions or garlic, chopped fine (scallions and garlic work great)

2 corn, kernels cut off 

1 lemon, for a squeeze or two of juice

fresh or dried rosemary for sprinkling 

other fresh herbs, like parsley!

fresh mozzarella cheese 

prepared pizza dough

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. If you have a pizza stone, preheat this as well. 

Prepare your potatoes. Saute the thinly slice potatoes over medium heat in a nonstick skillet with a little olive oil. Add chopped scapes (if using garlic, add it to the pan at the very end so that it doesn't burn) and continue to cook. Cook for about 10 minutes, flipping and babying the potatoes so they get a chance to cook through and maybe brown a bit. 

Prep your pizza dough- shape and stretch it and place on the back of a cookie sheet that has been dusted with cornmeal (what we used as a makeshift pizza peel). Top the dough with thinly sliced fresh mozzarella cheese. Now comes the fun part! 

Top the pizza. spread potato slices and scapes evenly over the cheese. Sprinkle the corn kernels on top (no need to precook). Add fresh herbs to your liking. Slide the pizza onto your hot stone and cook about 10 minutes or so- keep an eye on things. You want a super hot oven so the crust can cook and everything gets all melty together. When the pizza comes out of the oven, give it a squeeze of lemon juice, or pass half a lemon around the table. Enjoy!

A beautiful rainbow!

A beautiful double rainbow after showers on Sunday afternoon. Thanks Albert for the photo :)

Heat Wave

90 degrees at 10 am, huh?
This is what Pidge has to say about that.
This is what Pidge has to say about pretty much everything ;)

12 New Summer Scarves!

Last night was perfect for a summer scarf. A cool breeze and chilly shoulders after a warm and muggy day. Come to think of it, so was the night before. We had friends visiting from Rochester and went out to a Hibachi Grill (a tradition for out of towners) and Trader Joes. AC was pumping and I shivered my way through the aisles. Thank you for the cardigan, Rachel :)

Twelve new scarves are being added to the shop today!

Summer Recipe

Cold Noodle Salad with Veggies and Peanut Dressing

This dish is perfect for hot summer days. I made this after work in 30 minutes. Feel free to swap out veggies or change the ratios. I bet blanched green beans would be delicious in here as well as sauteed squash.

It's great over a bed of baby lettuce or arugula- we ate this for dinner and then lunch the next day.. all gone.

Dressing Ingredients:

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (I use natural, but any should be fine- including chunky)

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup warm water

1 T ginger, minced

1 medium clove garlic, minced 

2 T rice vinegar

1 1/2 T sesame oil

1 T honey or agave

1 tsp hot sauce (or a pinch of cayenne)

Puree everything in a blender for a minute. I use an immersion blender to whir everything together.

Salad Ingredients:

3/4 lb soba or udon noodles (feel free to swap out specialty noodles for spaghetti)

3 thinly sliced scallions 

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 

1 cucumber, seeded and thinly sliced 

1 carrot, sliced into ribbons with a veggie peeler

kernels from one ear of corn, no need to cook it 

3 T sesame seed for garnish

Cook the pasta according to directions on the package. Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water.

While the pasta cooks, chop veggies and make the dressing.

Throw it all together in a big bowl, using tongs to combine dressing with the salad ingredient. 

Serve on a bed of lettuce and garnish with sesame seeds. Voila!

Shop Update!

 15 new scarves just added to the shop! There are several black, aqua and peacock infinity scarves that are limited edition.. discontinued fabrics :(

All silky soft with a handwoven striped cuff in different color combinations.

A coupon code for blog and newsletter readers! Free domestic shipping in the U.S from June 16th to June 24th - just use coupon code: SUMMER2012. 

Here's the catch-- any orders placed in that time will not be shipped until June 25th. 

Fireflies in June

Oh the other night was pure MAGIC.  The field behind our house was sparkling with fireflies. And it only got better when Albert pulled out the camera and we began to experiment with shutter speed. 

We began photographing around 9pm when the last moments of sun were 

disappearing behind the trees. 

The tracks leading up to our house.

Fireflies moving directly in front of the lens. 

An awesome abstract painting Albert took after I'd gone back inside. 

Oh! More than a dozen new infinity scarves were finished today.. look for them online soon!

This photo kind of reminds me of a painting (note to self: pin this for potential future quilt). Those are 38 new woven cuffs cut off the loom ready to be sewn! 

Each rectangle of stripe-y cheer will be transformed into a cuff which will be sewn onto infinity scarves.  I spent the week on my big loom using up warp ends from dozens of woven scarves that would have normally been tossed in the trash. What a treat to cut them off and have a look at them all- really a test in color inspiration and endurance to come up with this many combinations 

in such a short time. I hope to have a bunch

 of new infinity scarves in the shop soon!

Here's what else I did last week.. tubing on the Brandywine River with a bunch of pals. We now have several towers of tubes on our patio for the summer.

Proud to say I did not drown in the raging waters- but I did get a whole lot wetter than I originally thought (note to self: after a night of heavy rainfall, wait a few days for the river to return to its normally foot high waters).

Peony Paradise

 This month has flown by! I have been knee deep in peonies again, picking 7 days a week for a local peony farmer. The weather has been cooler than last year and the frost devastated some of the crop. But there are still plenty of beautiful varieties. The funky fuchsia peony above is called Fantastic.

A gorgeous summer day out in the fields yesterday. The later varieties are full on and lots of daisies have cropped up between the bushes.

When frost hits a plant, it deforms the buds and disables them from maturing. Instead, little side buds shoot up and bloom. They aren't sellable, but still look gorgeous!

I think this one's called Henry Sass.

I think there are about 10 acres we walk through row by row twice a day in this field.

And this one is Francis Willard.

Hmm. Maybe this one is Fantastic. There are over 200 varieties!

My favorite peony variety- Mrs. FDR. The flower fades from white to creamy pink as it ages and have a pretty smell. Check out that mini bug mid- flight..

These little guys are about 4 days old. We've been checking on them every day, from the first time we noticed the nest. I love how the grasses are woven around the stems of the peony. As with all the bird nests we find in the 4 fields Richard grows, we leave the flowers on that plant unpicked.

Mondo thistle is my annoying enemy while picking- those prickers just go right through pants and gloves. Still the flowers are pretty awesome. Reminds me of an artichoke.

There may only be a few days left of peony season and then I'm back to weaving. I have about a dozen more summer infinity scarves to finish up and then work on the fall collection. 

April Showers bring May Infinity Scarves!

I am thrilled to share a new line of pidge pidge summer scarves! I've been designing these scarves for a little over 4 months now- sourcing extra cozy fabric, weaving mini swatches and doing a lot of seam ripping. My favorite part of the woven cuffs- I've finally found a use for the ends of warps (the vertical ends of a scarf that is threaded through the loom for weaving) that have been accumulating and usually go wasted. Every cuff is a little different- wide and skinny stripes, unusual color combos.

Check out this gorgeous tapestry I snatched up at a neighborhood garage sale this morning for 50 cents! I did a double take when I saw it was not $50- and incorporated all of the colors I've been inspired by for this new collection. Even the back of the weaving is skillfully crafted. 

It's already hanging on our living room wall :)

This bright fuchsia fabric is 100% organic cotton jersey. So lightweight and soft on the neck!

This tapestry will surely provide inspiration for more woven scarves..

The other little treasure I discovered on accident this week was this exquisitely woven robin's nest behind the bush in the front yard. Once I found the egg, I ducked out from behind the holly, afraid I would scare away the mother. Google came to the rescue as I learned robins lay one egg a day, in the afternoon (after catching the morning worms) for 4 consecutive days. She doesn't begin to incubate them until she has a full clutch so that they all develop at the same time. I felt better knowing she hadn't abandoned this little guy.

Perhaps I should change the name of this scarf to be robin's egg blue!

In the middle of writing this post, I decided to sneak out and see if mama robin had done any more laying. I didn't get too close, I promise. And miss robin was out catching lunch so I could use the zoom on our camera to investigate. Robins rarely lay more than 4 eggs, so I will peek from a distance for the next few weeks.