Looping

I tried my hand at looping a while back (several years ago now).  Looping is a form of netting and has been around for thousands of years.  The tool are simple, just a tapestry (big dull) needle and sections of string or cord.

My First bag

Silver and Red bag

My first bag was about 3x2 inches and I learned a lot about the technique,  the second incorporates a drawstring and is a few inches bigger all round. 

My third bag is larger and is shaped with small handles.  I have been having fun learning how to do this.  I learned about it from a book I purchased on Amazon: New Age Looping.

Tan and Brown bag

Fruit sweetened pumpkin pie

INGREDIENTS

CRUST

• 2 ripe bananas refrigerated overnight 
• 1½ - 1¾ cup whole wheat flour 

FILLING

• 1 15oz. can of pumpkin puree 
• 12-14 pitted medjool dates 
• 1 cup non-dairy milk 
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 
• 1 tbsp cornstarch 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. FOR THE CRUST: In a large bowl, use your hands to "cut in" the cold banana into the flour. Keep kneading and mixing until you have a cohesive ball of dough. If it is still super sticky, you can add a little more flour. 
2. Roll out the crust between two well-floured pieces of wax paper.Peel off one sheet of paper. Dust the surface of the dough with flour to prevent it from sticking to the pie pan. 
3. Flip into a 9 inch pie pan. Set aside. 
4. FOR THE FILLING: Blend all the ingredients on high until smooth. 
5. Pour into the crust. 
6. Bake at 425F for 15 mins. 
7. Reduce the heat to 350F and bake for another 35-40 mins. 
8. Let it cool, then chill for at least 8 hours before serving. 

Recipe from Susan Rader (Weight Watchers)

Owl 2

One of my coworkers though smaller was better, so I tried making one smaller.

As you can see it turned out quit a bit smaller.  Each square in the picture is 1/2 an inch. 

The one I made last night is about twice as big. 

owl

made this macrame owl. It took several hours. I think it cam out alright.  I found the instructions on Free Macrame Patterns .comI

Some Knots

I was tying a monkey knot and had some leftover cord. 

I used two 3 foot lengths.