Marte Opset sampler

 

Marte Opset's red sampler

 

It is rare to find specific information and details about a sampler, or piece of needlework just from a name and date, but this little sampler is quite interesting as I think I found not just our stitcher, but also information about her family.

In the 1891 census for Elverum we find the records of a rural residence, 042 Opset søndre, where a man named Jens Olsen lived with his wife and children. Both were born in Elverum, Jens in 1846, and his wife Karen in 1845. He is registered as a lumberjack, woodcutter, forestry worker, farmer, and owner. There are four children in the household at the time of the census, one of which is named Marthe Jensdatter (Jens daughter) born in 1880.

On trondtor.no you find a Marte Opset, (born in 1880, deceased in 1943) who  is recorded as married to Anton Magnussen Flåtestøen (B.1872, D. 1913)

It also notes that in 1908 Anton and Marte took over Søndre Oppset mot føderåd from Jens Opset (Martes father). I understand this to mean that the young couple took over the family farm with the agreement that they would care for, and support Marte’s father. 

As far as I can see Marte did not have any children of her own. Her husband  though, had a child from his first wife when they married, a four years old daughter named Anne. Anne married Oskar Bjerke, and they in turn took over Søndre Oppset in 1954, using it as a holiday house. It seems they had children, and from the website trondtor, it seems as if one of them is still alive, but the information is not available, so this is the end of the trail for me.

If you are a relative, or have information about the family or photos, please get in contact with me at: rolanddesigns@gmail.com

 

Red currant jam

 

Red currant jam

I’ve been making jam since I was a teen and while there are many ways to make jams and jellies, the technique I use has worked for me well over two decades and are based on traditional methods. I rarely have jam till overs, but one year I got a little over eager and made more than we needed, when I opened the last jars two years later, they were still just as good.

Don’t rush when making preserves but allow yourself plenty of time since you cannot stop once you start. I usually use about 2 hours max from start to finish depending on how many jars I have. 

My first tip is to pick the berries on a sunny day when they are dry, not after rain. For jellies and jam you need ripe fruits, but don’t be afraid to add a few ‘unripe’ one, the unripe ones contain more pectin which is the thing that binds the jam together, using over-ripe fruits can make your jam runny as it might not set properly. You can buy pectin at most grocery shops, but I feel that it is cheating to use anything else than fruits, water and sugar. 

 

Throughout the year I collect glass jars with good solid lids that have no dents or damages; I wash them by hand, never in the washing machine. Then, before using them I give them a quick rinse before sterilizing them in boiling water.

 

The secret to successful preserves is sterilization, if the jars are contaminated in any way the jam will spoil.  I boil water in a pot and keep it boiling while I carefully place my pots and lids in it for at least a minute, then place them upside down to dry on clean dishtowels, or metal rack to dry. 

 

As soon as the jam is ready, pour it all the way to the top of the jars, place the lids on right away and screw them lightly, when the jars have cooled down a little so I can handle them without getting burned I screw the top down. The cooling process will make the jam compact and create a vacuum. This is a little messy, but don’t try to wipe the jars yet. Let the jam cool undisturbed, and when completely cooled wipe the little drips with a wet cloth before storing in a cool, dry place.  

By the time the jars are cold you should see the lids have caved in a little, this is a sign that the jam is hermetically sealed and airtight. If you find jars that are not airtight, store them in the fridge – they will keep in the fridge for a good while, but should be eaten first. You can also freeze jam, but that is again – cheating in my book.  I like the idea of food items that does not require electricity for preserving it, and I take jam making very seriously – Ha !

 

Classic recipe:

 

-       Rinse your berries several times in cold water. 

 

-       Place in a large pot and add a little water to cover the bottom of the pot. (About ½ a cm of water)

 

-       While stirring regularly, bring to boil, turn down the heat and let them cook until the skin is wilted, and the berries are soft.

 

-       Careful! Hot! Using another large pot, pour the berries through a sieve. Do this in several times, discarding the berries as you go.

 

-       Weigh the juice you have collected and add the same weight in sugar. For example, if you have 1 liter of juice, use 1 kilo of sugar.

 

If you want to use a little less sugar, you can cut it by 20%, but I don’t recommend cutting the sugar too much if you plan on making hermetical conserved jam. If you are going to use pectin, freeze, or store the jam in the fridge, you can cut out more of the sugar, but the result might not be the same.

 

-       Cook the sugar and juice together on medium heat, stirring frequently until the sugar is dissolved. 

 

-       When the mixture has reached a gentle boil, let it cook undisturbed for 5x minutes.

 

-       Take it off the stove and skim off the scum. (Don’t throw it out, it doesn’t look too pretty, but taste very good)

 

-       Now you are ready to fill your jars. Be careful, the jam is very hot! This is not a job for children.

 

Red currants

 

Jars collected throughout the year

 

Separating the juice from the cooked berries

Original blogposts:

https://roland-designs.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-red-currant-season-jam-making-tips.html

http://roland-designs.blogspot.com/2012/07/red-currant-jam.html

 

Recipe I use:

https://www.davidlebovitz.com/red-currant-jam-recipe/

 

Tip for removing labels from jars:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmcRCfOTpOw&t=19s

 

 

 

Traditional Savoie cake

 Traditional Savoie cake

Also known as ‘Biscuit de Savoie’. This cake is very simple to make, and uses ingredients you probably already have in your cupboard. You can substitute part of the flour with corn or potato starch, this will make the cake even lighter. I have also seen others who add almond flakes in the bottom of the pan before baking, while others use orange flower water instead of a citrus zest.

 

Ingredients:

-          4 eggs

-          150 g sugar

-          150 g flour (Try 100 g flour/50 g Potato starch)

-          A pinch of salt

-          Zest of a lemon, or orange

 

-          Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until it forms stiff peaks.

-          Cream egg yolks with sugar, until light and creamy.

-          Add the zest of a lemon in the egg mixture.

-          Gently fold in the egg white in the egg mixture, while you sift in the flour little, by little.

-          Pour into a greased pan and bake for 30 mn at 180 degrees.

-          Decorate with icing sugar.

 

Traditional Gateau de Savoie

 

Mud season - Pattern review

After a failed knitting project (too big, too loose) I decided that I needed to build up my self-confidence again by knitting a simple, straight forward and fail proof design. One of my favorite designers is Elizabeth Smith. Her patterns are not only very well written, but she also offers a lot of support in the form of tips and tutorials. I had seen a pattern on her Instagram page that looked interesting and settled on giving it a try.

I felt a little wasteful after I had to give-up on my last project, but not wanting to knit with acrylic I did buy 100% wool yarn, but from a more ‘affordable’ brand. 

 

Arctic Fritidsgarn by Trysil for the Europris was quite nice to work with, no issues with knots or cuts in the yarn, good tension, and as a bonus, Europris members get discounts on wool, so overall a good experience. How it will hold out in the long run is yet to be seen and I will update this blog post once I have worn the sweater for a certain amount of time. 

 

I used less than four months to knit the sweater, but since I don’t knit every day, it is a little hard to say exactly how long it took. The pattern was very easy to follow, and the only thing I did differently was that I used a half size smaller knitting needles then the ones recommended. 5.5 mm for the 6 mm, and 5.00 mm for the 5.5 mm. I knitted the sweater with the waist shaping and despite having bought enough wool for long sleeves, I ended up knitting the short sleeve version.

 

I knitted the sweater in size medium, used about 8 balls of yarn, in the color taupe – 117

All that was left from the 8 balls of yarn

The fit: 

The sweater is compact, warm, and comfortable. The waist shaping is nice, but not mandatory for a successful fit. The short sleeves on such a chunky sweater are an interesting feature, but I think it might make the sweater more practical. I freeze easily in the winter, but I am also very active and long sleeves do get in my way.  The fact that it was easy and affordable to knit means that I can use it with a good conscience both at work (I work in a school) and around the house while doing chores. 

 

 

#mudseasonsweater

#elizabethsmithknits

 

 

'Help me to help myself' - Free pattern

 

A little pattern with a well-known maxim that sums up the essence of the Montessori method.

“We can sum this up in two sentences; the first actually said by a child to his teacher: ‘Help me to do it by myself’. The other is one we gave: ‘Every useless help is an obstacle to development.”

Maria Montessori - Citizen of the World

 

Book review: Wartime pilgrimage by H.L. Gee

I love reading, always have, and always will, but I fear that reading physical books is becoming more and more obsolete! We swipe, scroll, and skim content. We listen to audio books, and podcasts, and go with the minimalist ideal that we should not own too many books. After all, they just collect dust, their production is not eco-friendly and you can listen to the audio version as many times as you want.

All these are valid arguments, but we must not forget the benefits of holding a book in your hands. The most obvious being the hand-eye-brain coordination that happens when you hold and read a book, not only do you concentrate better on the content, but it also supports the upkeep of your language skills. And although I do regularly listen to audio books, especially when I am taking my dog on her daily walks, in all honesty I still prefer reading from physical books.

For a while now I have considered sharing my own book ratings on the blog, it would be my personal way to honor paper editions, and maybe it will encourage others to also make time for more reading in their own lives. 

So here is my first review:

Wartime pilgrimage         ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️                                                                 

By H.L. Gee

The Epworth press – 1943

 

The author takes a small vacation/pilgrimage in the English countryside during the second world war, there he meets and interacts with a variety of people.

A short, simple narrative, but with a healthy dose of good, old fashion positivity and a Godly attitude during a difficult time.

Here is a small excerpt from the book.

The author is talking to an old man outside the bombed ruins of his childhood church.

“….His fine old face, lined with care, showed something of the hard struggle he had had, but the steady eyes were those of a man who in good times and bad had tried to run the straight race…… ‘I’m an old man,’ he said at last. ‘I’ve seen all sorts of winters in my time, some hard, some mild. But whatever the weather had been, I’ve never known a springtime without snowdrops.’

…..’And perhaps, after all, God is using Hitler to shake us into a new realization of the truth; and it may be that by smashing some of the secondary things which perhaps we have come to value too highly, Hitler is helping to put first things first.’

 

 

My 5 criteria for rating books 

1. Did I read it from cover to cover?

2. Would I recommend it, or give a copy to others?

3. Will it become a part of my permanent library? (Buy my own copy, a hardback version, or would read again?)

4. Is it well written?  

5. Did I personally enjoy it?