Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Second leg - on to the Horseradish and Herb Festival



We left the HSA conference on Friday evening, and headed towards Somerset. The four of us (Susanna and Angelica Reppert-Brill from The Rosemary House and my sister and I) would be staying with the organizer and her husband - Barbara and Fred Will of Sugar Grove Herbs. Coming from near Gettysburg were Barbara and Roger Steele of Alloway Creek Herbs. It would be a full house!
The roadsides on the way to Somerset were covered with all kinds of wild medicines and edible herbs. St. John's wort, mullein, and chamomile were in full bloom. Entire drifts of chicory turned hillsides sky blue while daylilies and butter and eggs winked from the ditches. Sumac and teasel were not yet blooming, but were still beautiful. Yellow jewelweed, blackeyed Susans, and butterfly weed shone in different shades of yellows and gold. Lots of yellows. There were entire fields of elderflowers. I've never seen so much. It was everywhere! I thought that it looked like a good idea to harvest a good amount for the coming winter.
After we got through all the tunnels that terrorize my sister, we relaxed and rolled into town. We quickly noticed it was a biker weekend in town. I have a sprained ankle, so my cane with the flames coming up from the bottom fit right in.
Saturday morning we all got up and headed over to the festival to set up after a quick cup of coffee and some cereal. Lots of great herb booths and talks. I gave a talk on wild edibles that was well received and a lot of fun for me. We were outside, and it was cold for this time of year! It helped to sit close together. There was also a recipe contest for dishes using horseradish. The brownies won. Barb Will made some horseradish sweet pickles that were delicious, but she didn't enter them because she found the recipe on-line. Still great, though!

That evening we went out to dinner together and followed up with a few bottles of Bicentennial Blush from a winery up the road (sorry... it escapes me at the moment). We had so much fun talking about our businesses and our lives. There is something about getting together casually with other herbies and sharing ideas. My favorite thing.
And now, on to Farm at Coventry tonight to listen to Phyllis Light.

Monday, June 27, 2011

HSA conference in Pittsburgh

Vending at a conference is a little different than attending a conference. Okay... a lot. But I really enjoy it. There is usually a good bit of down time while the attendees are in workshops or lectures, and that's a relaxed time to get to know the people around you.
The Essential Herbal did very well with our books and magazine, and Torchsong Studio nearly sold out of her Wishing Vessels. Looks like Maryanne will be busy on the torch melting glass this week, and I have quite a few orders sitting here waiting to go out. It was now or never for the blog though, since more excitement awaits!

Josh Young and Jim Long from Long Creek Herbs were on one side of us. Jim was pretty busy with scheduled talks, etc., but I was happy to see Josh was our neighbor. We've vended in close proximity in the past, and he always makes it a humorous and enjoyable time. It was also great to meet his lovely mother Barbara, and it quickly became clear where Josh's sensibilities come from. Jim joined us for a good bit of Friday afternoon. Jim seems to have a thing for hats, so he wandered over to Carolee's area and tried one on. Personally, I think it really looked good, but he put it back.
On the other side of us was graphic designer and illustrator Karen Sandorf. She has a lovely selection of cards, calendars and hang-able art. She does the art, the printing, the scoring, folding, wrapping - and I can completely relate to that! On the back of the notecards (which are blank inside for writing), there are recipes that include the herbs on the front. I am hoping to carry them on the website soon.

One of my favorite acquisitions from the weekend is this mug, held here by the artist, Sandy Manteuffel. It is absolutely gorgeous! The outside of the mug is porcelain, and the mug is sort of bas relief so that you can feel the leaves and bugs and fairies carved into the clay. She does various kinds of pressed clay work, but I just fell in love with this piece. Her business is From the Earth to You, and there is no website, but the email is EarthPottery@aol.com.

On Friday morning I took advantage of the on-site massage therapist, Alison Matesa from Munhall Chiropractic (412-638-5807) in Homestead PA. She was offering chair massage, but I asked her to work on my poor swollen foot. It did help a lot for the day, although gravity wasn't on my side :-( If you're in the area, Alison did a great job!

There were a lot of great vendors in the marketplace. Lisa Head of Perry County gave a workshop on making beeskeps, and also had her handmade, amazing skeps on display for sale.
And of course we shared our travels with the Reppert-Brill girls, Susanna and Angelica of The Rosemary House. There is no picture that can express how much fun it was to hang out with the two of them. They are wonderful companions.
We also got to have dinner with a friend we got to know during the Somerset weed walk a couple of years ago - Deborah Stiffler - and enjoyed elderflower "martinis" while playing Bananagram at the table.
Oh, and then there was Ben from The Saturday Light Brigade which "has celebrated our neighborhood's people, places and ideas. These engaging features, heard live on the radio Saturday mornings, can now be easily streamed and downloaded at neighborhoodvoices.org" who interviewed Jim Long, Susanna Reppert, and me. He was an engaging young man with really good follow-up questions. An excellent interviewer, he was. I'm not sure what will happen to those interviews, but it was fun and interesting to do. Thanks to Jim for the shove, btw.

Friday, June 17, 2011

The Essential Herbal July/August 2011

See what happens when I get a few days off? I completely forget that the new issue was supposed to go up on the blog and website on the 15th! Oops. Sorry about that.Like it or not, for the most part The Essential Herbal is me - much like the Wizard of Oz sometimes, so when I go out of town and don't have computer access, not much gets done. Luckily there's nothing critical about this business. The information will be there when I get back to the office.
A couple of points of interest that aren't covered in the table of content (below) are that we have 2 tickets to the Southeast Women's Herbal Conference that subscribers are encouraged to enter a drawing for by sending a postcard to our physical address during July/Aug. Great value, and great odds.
Additionally, there will be some overflow of magazine submissions that will make it onto the blog in the future. That means that we will put original, unpublished articles here from time to time. Not huge news... just wanted to let you know.

Table of Contents July/August 2011

Field Notes from the Editor
The excitement of wildcrafting in a new region.

Fairy Friends, Melissa Nicole “Honeybee” Sidelinger
Childhood memories of building a tiny village and the joy it brought.

SouthRidge Treasures, Rosemary, Mary Ellen Wilcox
Mmmm….. lore and growing information, as well as recipes for jelly, butter, and potatoes.

Labor & Delivery Room Kit, Betsy May
Betsy was prepared for everything except this….

Herbal Connections, Aromatics, Marita A Orr
Not all herbs have aromatic properties, but the ones that do start to heal us the second we inhale their fragrances.

Finding Fellow Herbies, Marnie Plunkett
One of the hardest things can be finding others to share the herbal passion with. Marnie shares some of the ways she’s found others.

Weeds in my Soup, Dianne Runge
Potherbs or Bouquet garni appear to be weeds to a young child, but add such a deliciousness to the soup or stew.

Summer Pampering for Pets, Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh
First beat the summer bugs on your pets, and then give them a treat because you love them! All the recipes you’ll need in this article.

Sour Cherry Scones, Marge Clark
Marge shared this recipe on the Yahoo! list and I immediately asked for permission to add it to this issue. We’d been talking about the anti-inflammatory aspects of sour cherries, and here’s just one more pleasant way to enjoy them.

Gems from Your Garden, Rita Richardson
Rita always has such great ideas for enjoying the offerings from the herb patch. Tomatoes, lemon balm, and blended culinary herbs star in this issue.

The Herbal Adventures of the Twisted Sisters, Part 3, Tina Sams & Maryanne Schwartz
Girls just want to have fun. So we did! Learning to make soap, how we learned about herbs, and some of our favorite culinary recipes. While we work on the next volume of our adventures, we're sharing the out of print first book in installments.

Pinch of Herbs & Sprinkle of Spice Quiz, Yvette Thomas
Test yourself with this fun quiz.

Summer Recipes from the Herb & Vegetable Garden, Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh
A bushel of recipes that you’ll just love!

The Soap Pot, Back to the Beginning, Alicia Grosso
Alicia presents her “if I knew then what I know now” soap recipe.

Natural Deodorant, Rachel Johnston
A natural, simple deodorant that doesn’t include anything you don’t want to put on your skin.

Herbs of the Zodiac: Virgo, Susanna Reppert Brill/Bertha Reppert
12 herbs important to Virgos, and a recipe just perfect for their time.

The Historic Herbal, Buttermilk Cheese, Kathleen Setzer
One page recipe and instructions to make your own cheese! Could it be simpler? I don’t think so!

Friday, June 10, 2011

Deer Creek Herb Farm

One would think that we would have been to Deer Creek Herb Farm near Reading, PA before. It is only 40 minutes up Route 222, and we pass the sign whenever we visit Molly at school (among other reasons for heading up that way), but we're so spoiled. Here at The Essential Herbal, we have such great spring herb festivals and our friendly herb farm around the corner, so we were just too darned lazy. This year, Kathy Lesher (who owns Deer Creek along with husband Jess) lured me up there with talk of a passionflower vine that is winter hardy in our area.
Before we ran up on Wednesday, Kathy sent me a message that I should take her phone number and call if she wasn't at the shop. She lives right across the road, and it was heading for 100 degrees - so I'm passing that info along. Check the website for hours and take the phone number.
Kathy raises lots of wonderful herbs and her stand has always drawn me over at the Landis Valley Herb and Garden Faire because she takes unusual plants that are hard to find. Her gardens are lush and lovely, and I think she has a penchant for the shaded medicinal plants. Her bed of goldenseal was very full. There were healthy stands of blue cohost and black cohosh (below you see black cohosh with blue cohosh on the left edge of the picture). There are several small buildings on the property (and quite a history to the place as well!) and in front of what was once a chicken house is a delightful hosta garden.
Elecampane is thinking about blooming.
Inside the shop is filled with herbal products. There are packets of dried herbs, herb blends, and simmering potpourris.
Teapots, tea blends and various accoutrement have their own place.
It's a beautiful little shop and garden with a very comfortable feel. Don't wait as long as we did to check it out!
Here's Kathy telling a little about it when I caught her at the herb festival this past spring:

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Summer in Galiliee - Juliette de Bairacli Levy

Spend a Week at the Sea of Galilee with the Grandmother of Herbal Medicine

I want to share with you a wonderful book by Juliette de Bairacli Levy, the Grandmother of Herbal Medicine - Summer in Galilee. You'll find Juliette and her two toddlers irresistible as they explore the Sea of Galilee (in the modern State of Israel) together. Summer in Galilee includes an herbal index by Susun Weed, photos from Juliette's archives, and stories that will stay with you forever. Timely, filled with historical tales and emotional adventures, Summer in Galilee is a classic that is passed from hand to hand, generation to generation.

And when you buy this wonderful and highly acclaimed book on Tuesday June 7th, you'll will receive dozens of wonderful downloadable bonuses that you'll love! Go to: www.grandmotherherbalmedicine.com learn about 70 partners who are celebrating the life and work of the amazing Juliette de Bairacli Levy, the grandmother of herbal medicine.

Join Juliette as she spends an eventful summer swimming in the waters, and the history, of the Sea of Galilee, in the modern state of Israel. Juliette trains her observant eyes, and lovely descriptive prose, on the people, places, plants and animals around her.

You will hold your breath as Juliette dares to traverse the forbidden militarized zone around the Jordan River in pursuit of a personal communion with this holiest of lands.

You'll thrill as she and her children discover ancient treasure, be fascinated as she visits the tombs of Jewish mystics, and, perhaps, scream in terror as she is visited in the dark of night by an enormous snake - only to breathe a sigh of relief when she is saved by her faithful Afghan hound.

Juliette vividly describes her visit to a Bedouin village, and the trouble this causes, both in the kibbutz where she lives and among the Bedouins. But with keen wit, steely nerve, and kind heart, she manages to please everyone, including her readers, as she saves the day and mends frayed tempers.

And when you buy this wonderful and highly acclaimed book, you'll be offered dozens of wonderful downloadable bonuses that you'll love! For over 70 gifts, go to: www.grandmotherherbalmedicine.com and help us spread the legacy of this amazing woman, the grandmother of herbal medicine, Juliette de Bariacli Levy.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Stop, Rest, Revitalize

We are busy people, always striving for more, reaching farther, moving faster. No wonder most of us feel tired much of the time.Summer’s longer, sunnier days tempt us into still more activity, leading to exhaustion if we don’t leave time for adequate rest.

Lengthy hikes, bike trips, or long hours of gardening can bring aching muscles and fatigue. Arnica Monatana soothes the pain and inflammation of most strains, sprains, and sore muscles. But nothing beats an ounce of prevention: warming up, stretching, and doing less rather then more.

Too Much Sun

If you feel weak after a day in the sun, you could be suffering from heat exhaustion. This occurs when the water and electrolytes you perspire are not replaced quickly enough. While cooling off and sipping fruit drinks, take Veratrum album if you feel dizzy, nauseous, and experience cold sweats. But if severe muscle cramps accompany the fatigue, take Cuprum metallicum instead.

Confusion and fever after you’ve spenttime in the hot sun are symptoms of heat stroke, a medical emergency. While you cool off and waitfor help, take Belladonna for fever, bright red cheeks, dilated pupils, dry skin, and a throbbing headache. Glonoine is given for similar symptoms, but when the headache is bursting. If you have suffered heat stroke before , you are more susceptible, so keep these remedies with you (preferably in 30C potency) when you need to be in the sun.

Fatigue

Studying through the summer or working extra hours? Kalium phosphoricum is an excellent remedy for nervous exhaustion, when you are having trouble concentrating or sleeping. If an upcoming exam or deadline has you feeling weak in the knees,nervous and trembling, Gelsemium will help. Lastly, Nux vomica will restore you when too many late nights have made you cross, hypersensitive, and tired.

Anemia

Many people suffer exhaustion from anemia, especially women with heavy menstrual periods. When fatigue persists, have your levels of iron and B12 checked. If you are taking iron supplements and other vitamins, homeopathic remedies can improve the absorption of nutrients so as to speed your recovery.

Although there are many remedies for anemia, China and Ferrum metallicum are the most common. Or opt for China when nervous exhaustion persists, or; sleep is a problem because your mind is busy with plans. Choose Ferrum metallicum if you notice that gentle walks relieve your fatigue, your cheeks are pale but flush easily, and the your mood is irritable.

Remember that exhaustion is your body’s way of saying “stop!” If too much activity, too much work or too much sun has wiped you out, stop, rest, and revitalize with homeopathy.

source : carehealthy.com

Treating Sports Injuries With Homeopathy

though there are more than 2,500 remedies in the homeopathic pharmacopoeia, an athlete that knows about half a dozen "sports" remedies will be forward of the ready.

Homeopathic remedies are unadorned to takeCthey trek well (in small fake tubes), and can be certainly tucked into a sports bag. And far from being bitter medicine to swallow, these remedies, in the form of tiny pellets, drink like honey and suspend cursorily under the tongue for rapidly absorption.

How Homeopathy workings

We hope that you have gained a clear grasp of the subject matter presented in the first half of this article.

Homeopathy uses microdoses of physical substances that stimulate the body to rebuild itself. The previous substance (from sources such as plants or reserves) is frequently weak in water and succussed (vigorously shaken) pending, in most bags, no molecules of the original substance are left. It seems that some information ashes in the water and continues to have a medicinal action although the absence of these molecules. The liquid "remedies" are then sprayed against pellets, which are given at diverse dosing intervals to nurse injuries. They will not interfere with conventional drugs, and face-things are awfully pink. For an injured player, a detail remedy is select by matching the design of symptoms to the symptom psychosis the remedy has been known, through history experience, to heal.

Recovery: chapter One

Arnica:

No sports bag should be permitted in the cabinet matter lacking homeopathic Arnica (mountain daisy) inface. For physical injuries, Arnica is the invaluable companion of ice, compression and rise for the nursement of pains such as honest blows in rugby, ankle sprains in soccer and edgy muscles after 18 holes of golf in the early bound. staining and aggravation from change are the revealing symbols of an injury that requests Arnica. It will curtail smarting, ease puffiness, help reabsorb bruises and normally hustle rebuilding in the first part of recovery. More people have been made awake of the profit of homeopathy through the use of Arnica than any other homeopathic remedy. Use it for those unusual occasions like receiving checkered into the boards in hockey or with your precede to meadow a cricket globe. It truly facility.

Some sports injuries can be entirely catastrophicCin particular concussions or "token reason pain." These are normal in both amateur and professional sports and can conduct to lingering personality changes and cognitive defects that can end a gifted athletes career. The aging pugilist Mohammed Ali is a good example of this manner of chronic reason spoil conducting to impairment of mental meaning. In pink bags, frequent concussions can be critical. In a modern reading of the use of homeopathy after paintic reason injury, rightly select remedies were seen to change entirely apparent pathology, according to the Journal of move upset Rehabilitation (1999; 14:521-542). After any precede injury, Arnica should be given right away (if the player is conscious) and, if lingering symptoms persist, nursement required from a professional homeopathic practitioner.

Traumeel:

If you are looking for a cream to rub on a sore muscle or ankle, try homeopathic Traumeel. It haves a combination of practical pain remedies and doesnt have camphor or menthol (normal in other arcane warm rubs), which can work against homeopathys action. Many athletes use Arnica cream as an alternative, but Arnica should not be practical to an open wound.

Hypericum:

If an injury occurs to a fingertip, lip or an matter with a lot of nerve endings (such as the tailbone or coccyx), use homeopathic Hypericum (St. Johns wort) instead of Arnica. Its more detail for this kind of injury. (One of my patients, with a harshly beaten fingertip from a crush injury did well by alternating Arnica and Hypericum.) So, if you drop on your behind on the ice or get a fingertip laceration while shock climbing, scope for Hypericum first.

source : carehealthy.com

Athletes Guide to Homeopathy

For small aches and bothers, trivial injuries from sports or other shocks, you can use homeopathic remedies. For more habitual complaints, consult with a naturopathic doctor, homeopath or holistingic practitioner qualified in homeopathy.

Use the symptoms below to help you prefer the accepted remedy. In universal, take slash potencies (something under 30c) of the remedy every half hour awaiting development is prominent, then the behavior should block. If there is a waning, take the indicated remedy again. Remedies are full under the tongue and detained for approximately 30 seconds. Take 20 record before or after you have eatenCthe promote away from food, the better. chocolate, peppermint, toothpaste, critical oils or camphor can neutralize the activity of homeopathic remedies. You can, however, take these remedies with water.

corporeal Injuries: step One

During the second part, we must switch to a more serious side to fully communicate the subject matter in a way for all to understand.

deem with one of these remedies in the first 24 hours next an injury. Take a low influence (under 30C) every 15 record for strict bother, then take once every 24 hours as symptoms develop (mostly after one to four hours).

Arnica is the number one homeopathic first aid remedy and should be deemed first for any injury. prime symptoms are: aches and bruises, dislocations and sprains and pain after overenergy. If the injury feels better when you lie down, develops with a cold compress or feels inferior when you stroke it, deem with Arnica.

Bryonia acts on the serous membranes, places and muscles. It is recommended when you have aching in every muscle or muscle tearing, irony of the mucous membranes and when you are cross. Injuries that feel better when passion and anxiety are useful but feel inferior when cooled or in proposal should be treated with Bryonia.

Bellis perennis: Use if Arnica didnt work in the first one to four hours. Bellis acts ajourney the blood vessels and muscle fibres. This is the first remedy to deem when there is muscle pain or injuries to the arcaneer bandannas and nerves. If you feel cold and cool, or the injury is black and desolate, Bellis is recommended.

corporeal Injuries: step Two

If after 24 hours you have not found relief from the point one remedies, try one of these from the next listing. Take four epoch daily.

Hypericum is the best remedy for injuries to the nerves, especially in the extremities. deem with Hypericum to alleviate incisive nerve bother such as when your fingers are wedged in a door or when you injure your tailbone.

Phytolacca has a arcane produce on gristly and osseous (bone) bandanna, and on muscle; it also mechanism particularly well on the Achilles sinew and ankle places. Aching, pain, supportlessness and prostration should be treated with Phytolacca. If the injury feels better with support and altitude and inferior when you move, use Phytolacca.

Rhus tox. A good remedy for bother in the small of the back and knee place. Rhus tox affects gristly bandanna, particularly places and sinews that are botherful and stiff. It is forever good to deem Rhus tox in bags of sprains and strains, tendinitis and plantar fasciitis (bandanna inflammation on the sole of the base). It is also very good for arthritis. If the injury develops with chronic traffic and applications of passion, Rhus toxis recommended.

Ruta acts on cartilage and periosteum (connective bandanna). It is superb for curing squalified flexor sinews and when all parts of your body feel botherful as if beaten. Ruta is good for beaten shins, bursitis, sprains and when your hamstrings feel shortened.

Fractures

After charming Arnica for primary shock, the most universal remedy for knitting together broken bones is Symphytum, the homeopathic form of comfrey. Take every two hours awaiting bother is diminished, then four epoch daily.

control Injuries

forever deem Arnica for a journey injury. Other remedies enter Nat sulph for habitual journeyaches that have plagued you while an injury and which are accompanied by personality change or depression. deem Hypericum for incisive, shooting bothers and nerve dent.

Your prime Remedies

Arnica: for any injury, aches, bruises, dislocations, sprains and pain after energy.

Bryonia: for membranes, places and muscles, aching muscles or muscle tearing.

Bellis perennis: for muscle pain and arcane bandanna or nerve injuries.

Hypericum: for nerve injuries, especially in the extremities.

Rhus tox: for botherful and stiff places and sinews, sprains and strains.

source : carehealthy.com

cherry berry impossible pie

Oh... this was one of my favorite concoctions so far!Prep time 10 minutes.
At our house, as the fruits become available, everyone brings them home. I'll come home from market with melon and strawberries, Molly will show up with cherries and blueberries, and then my sister will see a great deal on cherries and pick some up for me. Before you know it, we're in a glut, and worrying about using them up or preserving them. If you've been reading over past summers, you'll know that I am not a typical baker. There is rarely everything we need. We don't bake much. I just bought sugar after not having a bit in the house for months because we started doing kombucha again.
So yesterday I had a bunch of sweet cherries and 2 pints of blueberries threatening to turn.
In this area, we often see custard pies with berries floating in the creamy ivory filling. That was the vision dancing in my head. I went the Bisquick Impossible Pie route, using the recipe for coconut pie (without the coconut) and adding from there.

Cherry Berry Impossible Pie

Set oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9" pie plate.

3/4 C sugar
1/2 C Bisquick
1/4 C softened butter
1 1/2 C milk
4 eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla

And here is where I started getting creative.
I threw in 1 cup of halved sweet cherries, 1/2 cup dried tart cherries, and 1 cup blueberries.
1/4 cup sliver almonds
the zest of one orange
1/2 t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
1 t grated crystallized ginger

The only thing I might have added would have been more almonds - maybe almond meal. My sister doesn't like the texture of custard (?!?) and suggested some oatmeal, but that would ruin it for me.

Bake 55 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Delicious hot and/or cold.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Mini Rant of a Quiet Morning ...

If you publish a blog, you know that there are people who spend a good deal of time and energy posting comments that include links to their businesses - aka spam. In order that these are more often allowed, they try to come up with comments that will be agreeable, appear to cheer for your content, and also seem as if they might have actually read the content.
The other day I got a comment, and have been savoring it in its very perfection of spamminess.
It said simply:
"This is absolutely true that herbal products are affective (sic) for us. They are safe, no side effects and work effectively. "
Oh my my. Really, Mr. or Ms. anti-aging website that probably involves some magical (and affective !) weight loss and/or penile growth serums???? Really? Have you thought that one through all the way?
Back in our days as herb shop owners (and I'm certain that current brick and mortar owners will be nodding emphatically along with me here...), this was probably one of our most frequent conversations.
It seemed most common in the fresh-faced herb newbies. "Herbs are safe!" they say, "and they can't hurt you!" At the same time, they are thrilled with how effective they are for things that allopathic meds haven't fixed and they are miracles, and they can save the world AT LEAST!
The problem is that you really can't have it both ways. You just can't say that something is completely safe and harmless while it is effective and attacks disease. Is it safER? I think so. But not with that kind of attitude, it isn't. Are there times when it is flat-out stupid to use herbs instead of allopathic medicine? *I* believe so. Not everyone agrees, and that's entirely up to them. In my opinion, examples like compound fractures, abscessed teeth, acute kidney failure are just a few that should make it clear that there are good reasons for hospitals. Very few herbalists have nearly enough education to work on serious disease, and it frightens me to see people who read a book, take a distance course, and set up to practice.
One of the easiest examples of safe, harmless, natural and deadly refers to a radio contest that required the contestants to drink large quantities of water. A woman died from water intoxication in the contest.
There are lots of natural substances that we do not want to use in or on our bodies. As the editor and publisher of The Essential Herbal magazine, I advocate education, moderation and the blending of medical models - the best of all worlds.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Spiraled lavender wands

Back in 2007, I posted this illustrated tutorial on making lavender wands:
http://theessentialherbal.blogspot.com/2007/06/making-lavender-wands.html

Linkand since that time, there are many others on-line.
But a few years ago I posted this picture with the wands we were doing at the time....
My nephew was working with us on the wands then, and quickly grew bored. Being a math/computer guy, he came up with a few designs (one of which was 2-color with the spirals going in different directions!) that were fun and easy for us to follow.
Since then, I tried to get him to put together a little booklet of designs, but the silly boy keeps putting things like academic degrees first. Pfffftttt....
So today when I got another request for instructions, I decided to just go ahead and put them out there to share....
From my nephew, H. Rob Schwartz:
"Sure, the trick's pretty simple.
"Over 2, under 3" makes for a nice pattern, but any over/under-type combination is fine so long as the total number of stems in a step is equal to 5 (so 2 + 3 = 5). So "over 1, under 1, over 1, under 2" would also work (since 1+1+1+2 = 5), but it might look a little busy.
The number of stems must be plus or minus 1 from a multiple of 5. For example, 24 and 26 are OK, but 25 isn't. 29 and 31 are OK, but 30 isn't, etc. If the number of stems *were* a multiple of five, the rows wouldn't spiral around the columns, since there's no offset. Each column in every row would be the same. Using an offset of 2 instead of 1 (so 23 or 27 instead of 24 or 26) should also work, but might make for tighter spirals.

To sum up:
--> Pattern: Over 2, under 3.
--> # of stems: (multiple of 5) plus or minus 1.

Good luck!"