Slofemists At Moberly: Consensual Textile Workers

Here's a sneak peak of what the Vancouver chapter of the Slofemists is up to. This is a slofemist cover, soon to be part of an installation by Margaret Dragu at the Kamloops Art Gallery.

As we knot it and frame it with a protective border of blanket stitching we can't help thinking about the other invisible textile workers assigned to embroidering the original linen fabric.

How strange it is, to be in a privileged position where sewing is a relaxing hobby, an art, and a way to enjoy the company of other empowered feminists. All this occurs in an environment where a cross-pollination of creative and critical discussion can take place.

Next up we have a collection of sketches on fabric from the archives of Margaret Dragu. These are being stitched together into a panel for the exhibition.

 We, knot, stitch, and sew by machine. We talk about the issues of the day and whatever's on our minds.

Then it's potluck lunch time! The first day was all about simple and delicious sandwiches made especially good with Lexie's homemade pear chutney. The second day we made sushi cones with ingredients from the garden at Moberly wrangled away from the busy bees.

The shiso leaves were so large, I even made a cone with shiso leaves instead of nori.

Lois made awesome sushi rice with dashi broth.

We had sardines, tofu, and avocado to stuff in the rolls. They were super delicious.

On the third day we finished the slofa cover!

We started working on  some cushions.

And for lunch we made soup with beans from the Mayan gardeners at UBC, farro and lentils from Grain, and dried smoked corn Lois rbought back from Santa Fe, along with a giant dried chili pepper.

So there you have it! The Slofemists move upward and onward, slowly and surely. Thanks to everyone who came out and became a part of our collective herstor(ies).

DIY Sushi Birthday Party with Gnomes

 Peter's birthday is very close to Mother's day, which often creates a bit of a conflict. This year we decided to pool forces and celebrate both on the same day with a DIY sushi party, celebrating Peter as "a mother of invention."

 We invited some folks who are passionate about sushi and much better at making it than we are. This is a tricky way of inviting people for your house to make you dinner, but don't tell them that!

 I made kale bud and blossom gomae, using the recipe from Sharon Hanna's The Book of Kale. I didn't have mirin, so I used some ice wine I'd been given that I use for cooking, not drinking.

Jeremy knows how to make those big fat ocean rolls that I find a challenge.

 There's cucumber, tuna, tobiko and egg in his roll. I'm lucky if I can put two ingredients in my roll before it falls apart.

 Next, we have Ali, who is a pro at making raw sushi with radish sprouts, mango, avocado tofu, and kale.

She also added the gomashio I also made from The Book of Kale. The Russian kale tends to shatter when you make kale chips, so this is a great way to use those small pieces.

 I made a vegan cake that uses vinegar and baking soda as a leavening agent. I used hibiscus tea in the batter and malt vinegar from Spinnaker's brew pub in Victoria. I made one version of the cake with buckwheat flour, but I think it needs some flax "eggs" in it to make it a bit more moist. The coconut truffle icing is coconut cream, coconut milk, cocoa and a bit of icing sugar.

 The birthday boy--my favorite garden gnome in the world!

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there and to all the mothers (and fathers) of invention.