Author: Anna

An Orthodox Jewish mom and freelance writer enjoying a simple life with her family and chickens, somewhere in the north of Israel.

Crochet vest and Malabrigo Sock yarn review

I’ve worked on this open vest for a long time; months, in fact. Was it worth it? Absolutely. I got a lovely versatile item for layering and got to crochet with Sock, another delightful offering by Malabrigo.

First, the technical side: I used almost 200 grams (two hanks) of Malabrigo Sock in the colorway Arco Iris, and a 2.5mm hook. I’m terrible at following or explaining patterns, but I drew from this bolero diagram, omitting the sleeves and making it longer.

Now, about this joy of a yarn. Malabrigo Sock is a lovely, sturdy, plied fingering weight, 100% merino yarn. It doesn’t offer the cloudy softness of single-ply yarns by Malabrigo, but it’s a lot more resistant to felting thanks to its plied structure.

Don’t get me wrong, though – it’s still a very soft yarn, both in the hank and when it works up. And it has a fantastic drape. Like all Malabrigo yarns, it comes in a stunning color palette. It’s smooth and frogs easily if you need to correct a mistake. It’s very even (none of the thick and thin patches you’ll sometimes encounter in single-plies).

It’s superwash, so any items made with it would be machine washable. There are mixed opinions about superwash yarns in general, because of environmental issues and the way it alters yarn structure, but I personally loved working with it and look forward to wearing my vest.

Finally, this is a great example of why I love lace and fingering weight yarns so much: you get great value for your money. Each hank of Malabrigo Sock has 440 yards (just over 400 meters) of yarn. Two hanks, and you have a vest or a nice shawl. 3-4 hanks could probably make a sweater if you don’t need an extra large size. And your item won’t come out super bulky.

I have more Malabrigo yarns in my stash, and can’t wait to try them all. Stay tuned and check out my other Malabrigo yarn reviews: Silkpaca, Worsted, Rios, Mora.

Happy hooking in 2024!

Just a little hello

Hanukkah had already passed without me popping in to say hi (even though I meant to, I promise), but this is still a good time to wish everyone a happy holiday season. May our light shine brightly and chase darkness away.

Right before and during Hanukkah it became clearer than ever to me that we’re dealing with an unprecedented wave of antisemitism. An online author event I was going to participate in was canceled because the organizers were afraid to expose participants to social media trolls. When I started contacting people in the hopes of organizing an alternative event, I discovered some are legitimately afraid to “out” as Jews. There have been other outrageous happenings, like the Zenner club in Berlin refusing to host a Purim party.

It’s like a very thin, flimsy cover of civilization and tolerance has been yanked off, and Jew-haters are running in a pack again, this time dressing their antisemitism as “anti-Zionism.”

These hateful individuals are forgetting the sad failure of Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, the Inquisition, Nazi Germany, and other nations or movements that tried to erase the Jewish existence or the Jewish spirit. They won’t succeed… but it’s almost certain they will keep trying.

It also seems that the West is on the brink of much more serious chaos than a few anti-Semitic marches. I won’t be surprised if an epic storm of you-kn0w-what might hit the fan in the upcoming years, and we’d all better be prepared. Today, I’m convinced that the survivor won’t be the lonely guy with a bunker full of supplies for the next 100 years, but the resilient community of people who help each other out.

Stay safe, my friends. Wishing you all a very happy and successful 2024.

How to help your chickens through molt

For me, fall officially starts when I go into the chicken coop, and it looks like a bird got eaten there – mountains of feathers everywhere. Then I count heads and feel reassured when I realize my hens are only going into molt.

Molt, which usually happens as chickens regrow new high-quality feathers before the cold weather hits, is hard on chickens. They use lots of extra protein for those new feathers, so they’ll typically stop laying eggs. Laying might resume once they’re done molting, or stop altogether until the days start growing longer again, unless you use artificial lighting in your coop. I don’t do that; I believe my hardworking hens deserve to take some time off egg laying.

Watching a chicken lost a large part of its feathers can be alarming. From a sleek-looking creature with beautiful plumage, it very quickly turns into a half-plucked bird that then begins to look like a hedgehog as the feather shafts start growing out.

The Chicken Chick has a comprehensive article on molting and how to help your beloved birds through it. Your chickens will benefit from a protein boost during this time, which will help them regrow feathers more efficiently. Switching to higher-protein feed is common advice, but I usually supplement their normal diet with protein-rich snacks like cooked eggs, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, fish scraps, and occasionally even some cat food. Chickens are omnivores, so as long as you vary their diet, they should be fine.

You should also do your best to reduce stress for your birds when they’re molting. This isn’t a good time for a lot of handling, moving your flock to a new coop, or introducing new birds.

Don’t let molt bother you – within a few weeks, your birds should regrow their feathers and become their pretty selves again. Please feel free to share any tips for sailing through the molt season!

Surviving these troubled times

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Dear friends,

Except for a handful of occasions, I have always tried to keep politics out of my blog and grow a happy space focusing on sustainability, chicken keeping, crafts, and other fun stuff.

October 7th changed all that. It changed the world, shook us all to the core, and took us to a dark place Jews never thought they’d be in again since gaining a sovereign state.

This is a time when we need your support. People who stand with Israel are invaluable allies in an old-new scary tide of antisemitism rising in the world.

Some words about how we are doing: these events also taught us the importance of being prepared, as well as we can, for dire situations. There were serious issues with food supply in the days following October 7th. People blazed through grocery stores, emptying shelves, and restocking didn’t happen until after a major delay. I was happy we had a full pantry.

The world is in turmoil. If you can get a personal weapon, do that! I would, if gun license requirements in Israel weren’t so ridiculously strict (especially when you consider the current events).

There were a few days when we were all afraid to get out of the house. We were sheltering in place, like in the early days of Covid. When this happens, you’ll be glad to have a good stock of books, board games, and art and craft supplies to keep the family entertained- although these certainly aren’t essentials.

I believe good will always eventually trump over evil, but we’re facing some dark and difficult times. Stand united. Support each other; if you can, check on your Jewish neighbors and friends. I won’t lie, we’re not OK. But we will be.

Quick Update: We’re OK

I’ve been planning to write about other things, but right now I’ll just take a few minutes to let everyone know we’re OK and not in the missile range at the moment.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, everyone who took the time to email and message me. Your thoughts and concern are very much appreciated.

As you know, things are grim here, but we’re doing our best to carry on with as much normalcy as usual for the children’s sake. We still have public transportation running and I was able to go into town for some errands today.

As I just wrote in a social media post, hatred never ends, but then, neither do the Jewish people. Too many have tried to wipe us out in the course of history. Yet, nevertheless, here we are.

Thank you for the good wishes and prayers on behalf of our soldiers, policemen, first responders, volunteers, and other brave people helping handle this crisis.

Egg substitutes for fall and winter

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Fall is here, and we all know what this means: fewer eggs for the next several months for us backyard chicken keepers.

I don’t use artificial lights in the coop and let the girls get some well deserved rest. Since I usually prefer to go without than buy eggs from the store, I tend to choose recipes that call for fewer eggs – or use creative substitutes in baking.

When it comes to baked goods, eggs basically add three things: moisture, cohesion, and fluffiness. If you just omit eggs, a cake will likely fall apart or be too heavy. Fortunately, you have several substitute options.

#1 Nut butter or tahini. Peanut butter, almond butter, and tahini will bind your batter together and add a delicious earthy flavor.

#2 Applesauce. This classic substitute for eggs adds a lot of extra moisture.

#3 Banana. Mashed banana acts similarly to applesauce – but that banana flavor definitely comes through!

#4 Ground flaxseed. I’ve yet to try this, but many foodies suggest grounding flaxseed or chia seed with a bit of water to create a sticky paste you can add to baked goods in place of eggs.

#5 Aquafaba. Now THIS is something I’m definitely going to try at the first opportunity. Rumor has it that you can whip the liquid from a can of chickpeas, and that it acts similarly to egg whites. I’ll let you know how it works out for me!

In the meantime, I’m wishing everyone a happy fall – and a happy new year and Gmar Chatima Tova to all my Jewish readers.

Keeping cool (and sane) in extreme heat

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August heat tends to throw me into a kind of torpor. It seems like summer just goes on and on, with no prospect of ever ending. All I want is to stay indoors with a cold drink and the AC running full blast, but indulging in too much air conditioning ends with an inflated electricity bill. So how can you stay cool (or at least a little cooler) during scorching hot summers without overpaying for it?

#1 Stick to cooling one part of the house

Heat rises up, which means that the upper level of our house gets insufferably hot during the day. Using the AC is more cost-efficient when we all hang out in the living room downstairs, rather than disperse around the house and run multiple AC units at the same time.

#2 Block sunlight

Draw the curtains or use blinds to block the sun when it hits your house directly (this, of course, will depend on where your house faces). Open the windows to catch the breeze during the cooler hours of the day, like the early morning.

#3 Use a frozen bottle and a fan

Freeze a water bottle and place it in front of a running fan. This simple hack will release a stream of cool air into a room.

#4 Take it easy when it’s hot

Don’t force anything too demanding during the hottest hours of the day. Stay indoors, and preferably rest. Do outdoor chores early in the morning or after sunset.

#5 Wear cotton

Choose lightweight, loose clothes from natural fabrics like cotton or linen. Don’t be tempted to expose too much skin to the sun, as it can actually make you feel hotter. Also choose cooling, absorbent bed linens.

#6 Take a cool shower

Or a cool foot bath. You could even sit with your feet in a bowl of water while you work on your laptop.

#7 Cook quickly

Opt for quick meals that don’t require you to heat up your kitchen (and the rest of your living area) for a long time.

#8 Spend time out of doors

When heat subsides, of course. Around here, we have 2-3 hours in the late afternoon/evening when the house has heated up despite my best efforts, but outside the temperatures drop. Spending that time out of doors helps us stay cool without keeping the AC overworked.