Another week goes by...

So apparently the ''fever'' that caught me last week, was only skin deep and avoided me this week.  While I did do some crafty things, I, sadly, have nothing to show for it.  I did some sewing, and some knitting, but didn't finish anything worth showing off. 

I spent the first two or three days last week getting my swatches and patterns ready for our monthly pattern release over at A Year Of Swatches.  This consisted of finishing knitting the actual swatches (I had one come down to the wire), write and proof the patterns, take pictures, and make sure everything was posted in an orderly and sensical manner.  That task was completed, but cut into my allotted crafting time.
Thursday I spent working on a sock pattern that I am writing (a first) and Friday I did some sewing.  My brother-in-law, a welding student, asked me to sew him a ''welding cap'', I obliged and that rounded out my second week of (not-so-much) crafting.   

This week isn't looking to be so much better, and it's only day 1!  I've been perusing the knitting patterns over on Ravelry, because I have contracted an obsession to knit a sweater (God help me).  So that pretty much wasted all the time I had allotted for today.  The good news is I have found a couple of patterns I like (once I've narrowed it down I'll share them with you...) and tomorrow will be devoted to yarn shopping.  I know, I know, I shouldn't really go shopping until I have the pattern picked out, but one of the local shops has a yarn I've been wanting to try on clearance (new dye lot coming in) and the price just can't be beat.  I figure that I can find something worth knitting with this stuff, and there's plenty in the bin for a sweater, so that's that! 

Yarn shopping... before I have a pattern... don't give me that look...

Craft-fever

Last week was a good one for crafting.  I've challenged myself to do a little bit of crafting everyday.  I want to spend about an hour working on something, with the goal of finishing it, or at least getting a good handle on it in that time.  It doesn't really matter what I make, as long as it gets the creative juices flowing.  I'll try to do a weekly update every Sunday to share what I've done!

My creative week started on Tuesday:

I did a little bit of ''art'', if you want to call it that :)  This is a 2 inch ceramic pot that I colored with a silver sharpee.  My son got in on the action and colored one of his own.  Were going to get some small flower seeds, plant them, and watch them grow.

Wednesday:

I did a little bit of beading.  The body is a straight jewelry pin and the wings are wire that are just twisted around the body.  I love the beads: the body beads look tye-dyed and the wings are alternating seed beads in bright rainbow colors!

Thursday:

 I quilled a birthday card for my Granny.  She turns 80 this month!  Wow!  I love the effect of quilling.  It is simple to do, and you can really create a lot with the little paper shapes. 

FRIDAY:
I made some more beaded dragonflies, although I forgot to take pictures before they were sent off to friends!  They were made with the same beads as above.

The weekend was (and often will be) devoted to knitting.  I always have something on the needles, so it's easy to grab and go for all that weekend business!

A Sweet Treat

I got a little creative in the baking department last week.  I had a little potluck dinner to go to and it was my turn to make dessert.  The full recipe and instructions can be found here.

The insides of the truffles were chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting mixed in.  After you mix the cake and frosting you roll them into 1 inch balls... 

 The outsides were a combo of melting chocolate and melting vanilla.  I melted small batches of the chocolate or vanilla, dipped each ball individually (the vanilla needed to be dipped twice), and allowed them to harden on a sheet of foil...

Next it was time to decorate!  Again I melted small batches of the vanilla and chocolate, then spooned it into a baggie, cut the corner out of the bag (making a very small hole), and drizzled the melted stuff over the balls...

Each ''truffle'' was placed inside a mini-muffin paper and then they were ready to eat!  The cake was so moist and sweet. 

 The coolest thing about this project was the fact that you could take the rolled cake balls (before they get dipped in chocolate) place them in a zip-top bag and throw them in the freezer!  Just take them out of the freezer and pop them in the fridge a day before you want to use them.  Then proceed as planned.  They still taste great and the cake doesn't dry out at all!

A Rant About V-Day

My husband and I do not celebrate Valentine's Day.  Never have, and likely never will.  Not because we are cynical, or against love, or anti-chocolate.  In fact, we are quite in love, affectionate and we (well, at least he) loves chocolate.  We decided a long time ago that it was more important to celebrate our love everyday instead of saving it up for one day a year.  It's the little things that are important.  Like when he empties the dishwasher before he goes off to work in the morning or the fact that he lets me sleep in every Saturday.  Or that I make dinner for his stinky friends (and enjoy it) or that 300 days out of the year there is some sort of sport on TV.  For us, Valentine's day is more like our own personal Thanksgiving.  It's when we remember what we mean to each other and how our lives would be incomplete without "us".  It is not about chocolate, stuffed bears, or flowers.  

We spend a quiet night at home with a home-cooked meal and (sometimes) a bottle of cheap champagne (less that $5... hey I told you it was cheap) and the two of us. That's all we need to remind us that we are in love.

Adventures in Slow-Cooking

I found the best unexpected slow-cooker recipe yet... Apple Butter! 

We have some friends that are part of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), and every month they get a box of farm fresh produce- what ever happens to be in season that month.  They were going to England to celebrate Christmas with family, and offered us their box for December.  In it were three types of winter squash, two bags of mixed greens, some cilantro (don't know how that was in season, but whatever), dried thyme, two bunches of carrots, and about half a dozen of red delicious apples.  Everything got picked off one by one until all that was left were the apples.  Don't ask me how they got left behind, lost in the shuffle I guess, but they started to soften a bit and I started going through the mental list of what to make with them.  Apple bread or muffins?  Apple sauce?  and then it hit me... Apple Butter!  Now, I love apple butter, but I am the only one in my house to eat the stuff so I usually don't buy it.  But I got a new canning pot (and utensils) on mega clearance this fall and took that as the perfect opportunity to try it all out.

The recipe made 8 1/2 pints (17 cups) of butter that is now canned and awaiting its ultimate purpose.  Some of it will go back to the couple that gave us the box.  The recipe is below!

All Day Apple Butter

found on www.allrecipes.com

5 1/2 pounds of apples peeled cored and finely chopped

4 cups white sugar*

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1.  Place all ingredients in a slow cooker, mix well, and set to cook on high covered for 1 hour.

2.  Turn cooker to low and cook for 9 to 11 hours (I went with 11 and did this overnight).

3.  Uncover and cook on low for another hour.

4.  Blend until desired consistency.

5.  Spoon into sterile containers, cover and refrigerate or freeze.  

* if your apples are super sweet you won't need nearly that amount of sugar.  My apples were a combo of red delicious, fugi, and galas, all pretty sweet apples so I cut the amount back to 3 cups and it was plenty sweet.  You can put in half the amount in and check it and added it as you feel need be. 

Gifts

I wasn't too ambitious this Christmas as far as crafting went.  Last year, I made every member in my family a hat.  Which really wasn't so bad.  This year, however, I decided this year I was going to cool it and give gifts that were already made ahead of time.  No frantic last-minute knitting, just relaxing and enjoying the season!  Here was what made it through...

A HAT

Pattern: A Cloche Call  

Yarn: JoAnn Sensations Cosetta

 PILLOWCASES

A PAIR OF MITTENS

Pattern: Palm Surprise Mitts

Yarn: Katia Austral

A PAIR OF SOCKS

Pattern: An Anklet a Day

Yarn: Premier Yarns Serenity Garden

I also hand-dyed some cotton yarn, but gave it away before taking pictures!

Cabin Fever

If I had to describe my attitude in one phrase, it would be ''cabin fever''.  It has been so cold here lately, that going out, even to play in the back yard, is heavily debated, thought through, and deemed a bad idea.  I'm not sure that the temperatures have broken 25 in the last two weeks and the roof tops and lawns of the neighborhood are covered in a perpetual layer of frost.  We are confused since the sun is brightly shining, and the wind is not blowing.  It seems like it would be really nice outside.  But as soon as you open the door there is a blast of frigid air to greet you.

My son is going nuts.  Into everything.  Undoing everything.  Terrorizing the cats.  The only saving grace is he has his new Christmas toys to distract him, for about 15 minutes.  We've watched a lot of movies, which I hesitate to do lest he turn into a couch potato, but it's the only activity that we can do where he isn't getting into trouble every two minutes.

I've started about half a dozen ''home'' projects.  Cleaning out closets, cabinets, drawers.  Purging things that are too old and out-of-date to use.  But I am making little progress on those projects (see above statement about rascally toddler), so the house resembles more of a frat house than anything else.

As you can probably imagine, my crafting and cooking has suffered greatly.  The knitting sits in it's basket untouched and dinner has been reduced to McDonalds drive though and frozen or boxed meals.  I am hoping for the change to snap and for me to get my motivation and energy back.  Or at least for it to warm up enough that my son can spend half an hour outside running his little heart out.

Next time, I will share some of the little Christmas gifts I made.  It hasn't been a totally barren craft-land.