A Japanese day to start of the New Year!

Purely by accident we walked by a new Japanese place in town called Taska Kome and decided to go in and have a bite. The owner is a lady called Yuko and the food is delicious. 

It gives you a taste of the other side of Japan's gastronomy besides sushi, though sushi is great as well here.

 The best was saved for last: green tea ice cream with azuki beans and sweet potato pie (surprisingly great).

After lunch we went here to see an exibition called "Boro - the fabric of life" (boro means ragged).
Japan's mended and patched textiles sewn from nineteenth and early twentieth century rags and patches of indigo dyed cotton.

The beautiful arrangement of patches and mending stitches was borne out of necessity and was not planned by the maker.

Boro textiles were stitched in the old farmhouses, often at night, by the light of one dim andon, on the laps of farm women. 

This unconscious creative process has been object of many articles, praising the beauty of this technique which is becoming more and more recognized and admired, certainly beyond the  utilitarian purpose for which they were initially created.

Of course nowadays, there can be a tendency to romanticise these textiles, yet this art of repair did not begin as an abstract philosophy but was born out of pure necessity: “Boro textiles were the domain of the ordinary man and represented a collective, impoverished past.
However their inherent beauty is undeniable.

The Raglanify adventure - Part 2

My second attempt to knit a top-down-sweater was bolder: coloured stripes (noro and beiroa). #Raglanify

The Raglanify adventure - Part 1

This sweater is the first of many to follow.  Its made of cotton, from the top down, with the help of a magical APP #Raglanify. It oficial, I'm hooked!

Discovering Schist Villages

Magical places.
Here.
We will be back :-)

Mending experiences on a rainy afternoon

I recently improvised some patches in two favourite cashmere cardigans - inspired by this blog and by many other 'mending experts' who have pinned their mending solutions online and are now a part of my 'mending/darning' board.  It turned out pretty neat!

These cardigans are for 'home use only', worn on a daily basis to avoid freezing in these 'not-so-warm-portuguese-homes'. 

(I dream of central heating every winter day...!)

Cooking again, after a while

A rainy day is a good excuse to try out a new recipe. It worked out wonderfully. I love brocolli!

Crunchy Brocolli Pie (serves 6)

Ingredients

1 unbaked pie shell
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups chopped fresh broccoli
1 1/2 cups grated cheese
4 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 cups almond milk (normal milk can be used if preferred)
salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 175 deg (C). Over medium heat pour the olive oil in large saucepan.
Add onion, garlic and broccoli. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are soft. 
Spoon vegetables into pie shell and sprinkle with cheese. Combine eggs and milk.
Season with salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over vegetables and cheese.
Bake in oven for 30 minutes, or until centre comes out clean

New Year Resolutions

1 - to learn new skills and perfect recently learned ones!

2 - to eat less (delicious) crapy food.

3 - to believe new projects will come true... soon enough!

Learning new skills

To learn a new skill empowers you, this I know. Lately I have been trying to learn (here) how to make tops/blouses to wear and to offer.

In just a few hours, many possibilities unfold. I learn about patterns, measurements, materials and wished I had a lot of time in my hands to explore possibilities. Just for the sake of doing something with my hands.

Always under the watchful eyes of Mia (who likes to lay on top of the fabrics).

New-old things

An old embroidery manual from my great-grandmother and a new woolen scarf I'm knitting (my first one ever).

A new-old chair for my desk. Love it.

A new playlist for my walks through the city (autumn mood) and some images cut out from an old calendar -  Rodin's work, too beautiful to throw away.

New lives for old clothes (practising my sewing machine abilities)

Old scraps of paper I've been saving in a box will soon be part of a new project.

Old chair, new tricks from Mia (100 meter hurdles...).