Firsts!

Remember this? It's some of the roving I dyed at Jasmin's. Out of the three batches I dyed it was the one I prefered the least. It just didn't grab me the way the other ones do, and I thought I might have used too many colors and they'd all mix together when spun and turn out kind of drab. Well what did I know?

I haven't spun the other ones up yet but oh MY, I think it just jump-frogged into first place. This was my first attempt at Navajo plying. Well actually my very first try was about 10 minutes before this, with about 20' of scrap. Once I got the movement down, I went for it with this roving and I love it! If I'd just plied this as I usually do with 2 strands from separate bobbins, I think it would have turned out kind of muddy. But the Navajo plying keeps the subtle colors clear. I thought it was really over-plied at first but a good soak and then hanging it to dry seem to have taken care of that. So YAY!

Another first - I love to cook but had never cooked Persian food (we go out for it when we can - I have yet to try a dish I haven't liked). This is from A Taste of Persia by Najmieh K. Batmanglij. The dish is called khoresh-e qormeh sabzi - a fresh herb stew with chicken and kidney beans - and is served on top of saffron basmati rice. It's easy to do, though it does take time - and that time is well worth it. Freakin' yum!