Giving birth to a pattern

Scrappy Happy V-stitch Blanket Pattern - soon in my shop.

Finishing touches... When I'm in the middle of pattern writing I really don't like it. It is a messy business. When it is ready and lying printed in full on my office table, I love it! It makes me so incredibly proud to be able to present a new pattern, after all those hours of tweaking, testing, photographing, designing, editing... For me a pattern is more than just written instructions on a piece of paper. For me a pattern needs to be visually pretty, functional and be easy to read. For me a pattern is almost as much of a piece of art as the item itself.

Tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow this pattern will be available in my Etsy Shop. I can't wait. It is like giving birth every single time. It is soon over, just one more big push and the new pattern will soon be gently tucked into my Etsy Shop together with all the others. It might look like "just" a V-stitch blanket, but this blanket is so much more and not so predictable to make as it might appear.
I hope you will like it.

Kärlek
Annette

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When Swiss school sucks

Today I'm angry. I'm angry with the Swiss school system. Because it is a good system but sometimes... Oh sometimes I just want to strangle this school system for being so.... grrrrr... plain out fastidious! Like last week when my youngest daughter came home from school with a math test being just one point away from a higher grade. The error was this:

"Steven has bought 2 bouquets of roses for his mom and they cost 6 CHF each. Tanya has bought 12 daisies and 10 tulips for her Mom. How many more flowers did Tanya buy than Steven?"

Do you know the answer? Well I certainly don't... So how would Emmy Bo know the answer? She is only 8 and of course she makes her best to guess an answer, and she fails.

I wrote the teacher asking: "What is the correct answer as the question obviously is lacking enough information to receive a correct answer, or did I miss something here? Maybe in Switzerland a bouquet of flowers ALWAYS contains 12 flowers as a general rule. Something that everyone should know... Or... Please, just fill me in. Because I don't feel that this is a correct question to have in a test. I'm sure Emmy Bo is not the only one who failed answering this question."

The teacher ignored my question for 4 days and after a reminder from me she finally responded:

"Well, that is a question without an answer and the correct answer should be 'I don't know.'"
Oh, how silly of me. Of course. Why didn't I get that? Of course tests should include questions where the answer is expected to be "I don't know.". I mean, we only study so hard to get it all right and to respond correctly to all questions in a test but of course we all should know that every now and then the school system sneaks in a "tricky one" which doesn't have an answer at all. Especially 8 year old kids should know this.

I'm sorry if I come out as being sarcastic but excuse me. Really??? Seriously???

Well, that trick question cost my daughter a point from a 5,5 instead of the 5 she got on her test. Luckily Emmy Bo is a strong girl and she won't be knocked down by this error, but someone else with maybe just a teeny weeny bit less self esteem could actually be really challenged by that kind of error. For another kid this might stir up some real anxiety for what questions will need an answer and what question will not in the future. There will always be a "trick question" hidden there somewhere... Scary...

I don't like it and I personally think it is bloody stupid to include trick questions in an 8-year old's math test. But that is my opinion and I'm an foreigner so maybe I should just keep my mouth shut.

Today I wish I spoke French fluently and comfortably, including curse words to let some steaming anger out,  because if I did I would not have hesitated to go knock on that classroom door and question the teacher if this is truly within the regulations of a school plan. And I just wonder what she would answer. Maybe she would say "I don't know..."

Note: Thank you all for your comments and support on this topic. I have spoken to the teacher and it is a part of the curriculum so... Well, I guess I just have to suck it up and move on. I still find it strange though to say the least.

Kärlek
Annette

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Lets make butter!

The other day when coming home from running errands, I found Emmy Bo on a chair by the kitchen bench with a bowl, a package of cream and the electric whisk.

"Hi Mama! I'm making butter!"

Emmy Bo is without the most passionate Little Cook of the family, spending most of her online time watching cooking videos and letting the world know that The Great British Bake Off is by far her favorite and her best TV program - EVER!

She is only 8 but knows her way around kitchen utensils, sharp knives, peelers and machines already. So I let her get on with it, while unpacking my groceries.

She whisks the whipping cream (35% fat) for a long time until it gets Chantilly cream thick. Then she whisks it for even longer until it starts to get grainy. And then she continues to whisk it until it suddenly separates into butter and buttermilk liquid.

I help her to squeeze out all the liquid and collect it in a glass to enjoy later. We wash the butter in cold water to extend its shelf life,  and then Emmy Bo adds a sprinkle of salt, kneads the butter with her knuckles until all salt is worked in evenly. She gives it a taste...

"Yep! That is perfect Mama!".

We put the butter in a cup and prepare a crisp cracker. It is good. Very good. And it is homemade! As simple as that. And if you wonder where Emmy Bo got the idea from, I would guess it must have been from one of all those videos she has watched. Internet is not that bad after all.

Give it a go. If homemade bread is good, serving it with homemade butter will make it taste even better. Plus it is fun to make butter with children. It is like an experiment, really exciting. Enjoy!

Homemade Butter
Makes approx: 1 cup

  500 ml Whipping cream, 35%

Pinch of salt
Electric whisk

1. Whisk chilled whipping cream on high speed until it separates
into butter and buttermilk liquid, approx 10-20 minutes.
You will go through 3 phases while whisking your cream:
1, Whipped cream - 2, Grainy mixture - 3, Separation between butter and liquid.

2. Pour buttermilk liquid into a glass. Very tasty and fabulous for baking.

3. Wash butter in cold water to pro long its lifespan.

4. Add a pinch of salt to butter and knead it into mixture with your knuckles.

5. Serve butter in pretty container and store in fridge.

Bon Appetit!

Kärlek
Annette

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