Spring Crafts on Acorn Pies

Spring is coming in Switzerland and it is time to do some spring crafts.  Some of them involve getting out in the woods, even though it is still chilly and there are only bits of green to be seen.  You can click on links to these crafts in the column to the right, or do a search if it is no longer spring on Acorn Pies.

Spring Printmaking
Make a Bow and Arrow
How to Make a Swedish Maypole
Make a Paper Boat
Make a Spring Skirt
Make a Comet Throw Toy

Get out in the puddles, the woods, the meadows and the playground, and have fun!  love, Beth

Knitting Handpainted Yarns

 If you have been reading this blog for a while, you might remember the superwash merino wool yarns, some handspun, which my little boy and I hand painted.  It was so much fun, and safe enough for everyone to do, but when I created this yarn, I didn't know what I would knit with it.  There wasn't enough to make a sweater, and it didn't go with anything I had.

My mother gave me a beautiful turquoise ski jacket for my birthday this year, and as soon as I saw it, I realized that I had just the right yarn to use to make a hat to go with it!

 Now I am starting to browse the egg dye collections which they have here in Switzerland.  Spring is a great time to hand paint yarn because this is when the dyes are available, and soon it will be warm enough to work outside!  After Easter the prices on the dye packets will go down.  Stock up!  I would love to tell you how, but it's pretty improvisational!  Here is a link to my original posting about hand painted yarns....
http://acornpies.blogspot.com/search?q=egg+dyes  Or just click on the title of this post.

Easter Crafts on Acorn Pies

Lent is here and it's time to do some spring crafts for Easter.  Look in the column to the right for links to:

Make a Little Willow Basket
Make a Mossy Felted Stone
Make a PomPom Bunny
Natural Egg Dyeing
An Easter Egg Decoration

More links to spring crafts will be coming soon.  May you have a blessed Easter Tide!

Winter in Switzerland

 Winter in Switzerland is snowy meadows, forests,

and villages.

Switzerland in winter is frost in your hair.

It's learning to snowshoe,

 and falling down sometimes.

It's unbelievably blue skies,

 skiing holidays,

 sledding on wooden sleds you can't steer,

 wearing hand knit hats,

 and walking somewhere which feels like the middle of the wilderness,

 even though it is just steps away from a restaurant.

 Switzerland winter is snow-covered chalets,

 throwing snowballs at your big brother,

 throwing snow boulders at your little brother,

 having a frosty drink from a fountain,

 snowy cobbles,

  

 and understanding why The Matterhorn is so special to the Swiss. 

 Winter in Switzerland is beautiful, and I love it.

Copyright 2012, Peg Howerton and Beth Curtin

A Chocolate Adventure!

 Oh, wonderful, wonderful day!!!!!  My mother and my son were visiting and I scheduled a chocolate workshop at the wonderful Durig's in Lausanne, my favorite chocolate shop!  My son is Nick Curtin, a chef.  Did you see him on Iron Chef this fall?  And my mother is the adorable Peggy.  Some new friends were also there.  I was so excited I was beside myself.  In this picture Nicholas, my friend Henriette, the amazing Swiss papercutter (more on her another day,) and I are all examining our plastic chocolate molds.  In front of us is a bowl of white chocolate, to be used to ornament our molds, with artist's brushes, before we add the dark or milk chocolate.  This is the first thing we did after putting on our aprons and washing our hands.

 In this picture Nicholas is adding dark chocolate to his cat mold, with the help of our teacher, Eric, the chocolate maker.  While our chocolate hardened in the refrigerator, Eric told us about how cacao is grown and processed.

 Durig's chocolate is bio and fair trade, incidentally, another reason to love their chocolate.

 These are some cacao seeds inside the cacao husks.

 In this picture my mother, Peggy, with the purple shirt, looks so excited.  She loves to learn, just like me.  Now I see where I get it!

 This is what the chocolate looks like when it arrives at Durig's.

 This is what some of it looks like after the chocolate makers have done their magic.  It is a beautiful shop and their chocolates taste amazing.

 I loved seeing some of the beautiful ingredients which they add to their chocolates, like these dried flowers.  We also got to smell the different types of vanilla and spices which they use.  The quality is superior.

 A second trip to the chocolate machine with the molds, a second cooling, and our chocolates were ready to unmold.  I think everyone was amazed that they had made such beautiful chocolates.  It's beautiful, Melissa!

 I was so proud I felt like I should be hired to help Durig's get ready for Easter.

Nicholas decided to give his chocolate cat to his girlfriend.  What fun!!!!!!  Amy, in the background with her husband Kurt, was celebrating her husband's birthday that day.

If you want to order some of Durig's delicious chocolates or sign up for an atelier, google http://durig.ch/

Talk to Your Kids About Art School

Look at this great new campaign for art school, which encourages families to "talk" about art school using imagery and language reminiscent of the DARE anti-drug program.  Click on the title of the post or google breakingcopy.com to see more of the campaign!

L'Escalade: The Patriotic Festival of Geneva

On December 12, 1602, Charles-Emmanuel, a Frenchman, le Duc de Savoie, attacked Geneva with 2000 men.  He wanted to make Geneva his capitol north of the alps.  He had chosen the longest night of the year, and attacked in the dead of night.  The attackers placed huge ladders against the great walls surrounding the town.  ("Escalade" means "the scaling" of the walls.)

The townsfolk were awakened by the shot of a musket.  Soon the bells of St. Pierre tolled the alarm.  The town was under attack.  Soldiers and townspeople rushed to defend their town.  People tossed furniture out the windows onto the attackers below.

According to legend, Mère Royaume, who lived near the Porte de Monnaie, grabbed a "marmite," (a three-legged cauldron) of vegetable soup and threw it out the window, killing one of the Savoyard soldiers. 

 The Genèvois killed 54 enemies and captured 30.  The rest of the attackers fled.  Many of the prisoners were of high rank, and all were hung the next day as "brigands and thieves" by the town executioner.  Eighteen Genèvois were killed.



"To Our Valiant Ancestors. Here during the night of the Escalade the 12th of December of the year 1602 the people of Geneva repulsed the enemy and saved Independence and the Republic.  May their memory dwell imperishable in our hearts."

Every year since 1902, the patriotic and proud Genèvois have celebrated their victory with a festival of re-enactions and parades.

Throughout the city, in pastry and candy shops, chocolate "marmites," red and gold wrapped candies, and marzipan vegetables appear in the windows.  On the day of the celebration people of the town put a chocolate marmite in the center of the table at dessert time, stack their hands above it and declare,

"Et c'est ainsi que périrent les ennemis de la République!"  (And thus perish the enemies of the Republic!)  Hourah!