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Hopping on the Mini Bandwagon

2010-02-01T16:04:08Z

I am joining the mini-pie craze.

Well... sort of. I'm starting a mini-crisp craze instead. I like pie, but just not as much as I like sugar and fruit and crumbly bits.

There's been a lot of talk lately about mini pies. Jean & Sarah inspired and contributed to most of that talk and I've decided to join them on their mini bandwagon.

Just imagine: Tiny baby pies (or crisps) that you can freeze and cook whenever the craving hits. Now, this kind of thing is so me. I love cooking in bulk. Remember this? I still have oatmeal cookies in the freezer right now and I've added chili and these delicious cheddar puffs, too. There's always room for more dessert, though.

I bought myself some wide mouth 1/2 pint canning jars and used this recipe. I knew I would need to eat one of the crisps right away (and so would Etienne), so I baked two in ramekins.

And you can't leave those two extra jars empty, so I winged it and made a blueberry version. I have no idea how those will turn out, but how bad can it really taste in the end? As you can see, I really poured on the topping. Fingers crossed that that works out, too.

They were delicious. Especially after I topped mine with vanilla ice cream.

The only thing that could have been better was the crisp topping. I wish I had read the directions correctly because I think my crumbly top could have been crispier if I had done so. The pear juices made what Etienne called a "pear toffee" around the edges of the crumble. Mmmm. I can't wait to eat the rest of them.

P.S. See those cute yellow tins in the first picture? I've been looking for sugar and flour holders for some time and I found this guys at target. Love them!

Housewarming Pot Holders

2010-01-23T13:00:33Z

I have to admit that it hasn't been good these last couple of weeks. I've been feeling very down. Way down. Even during the three day weekend, I found myself unable to do anything, let alone any of the sewing tasks I had planned. Then by the end of it I felt so guilty. A weekend wasted.

Everyone keeps telling me it's the winter depression come early, but I don't remember it being this bad. Do I block it out? Why am I surprised every year when it happens?

One theory I had was that every year I blame it on a failed new years resolution to get fit. This year, though, I am actually doing really well - exercising four times a week. It's a miracle! I certainly can't place the blame there this year.

Thankfully, the feelings have slowly started to lift. I don't know why it started or why it's stopping, but perhaps forcing myself to do things have helped. I baked twice this week for our Charity bake sale at work to benefit Haiti. AND I sewed something.

I made two matching pot holders as a Housewarming present for my friend, who just bought her first home. I don't know how she decorated her kitchen yet, but hopefully it matches.

The red striped fabric is the back of each pot holder. I had exactly enough fabric left of this cute kitchen print, which I found by going through my scrap pile. Very lucky. Why did I ever put such a large scrap in there anyway?

UPDATE: Umm.... Am I psychic now? The pot holders she already had were blue, green, and then a red and white striped one. How lucky is that?

New Year. New Quilt.

2010-01-11T13:00:42Z

I have been feeling so weird lately. I've spent every weekday thinking about sewing and then every weekend not wanting to do any sewing. What is my problem? I guess I just have to jump back in.

It's time to start the Color Wheel Quilt. One of my new year's resolutions is to make a quilt for my bed, so why not start with this one since I have the book and all of the fabric. Sarah bought me the fabric bundle as a wedding present. Perfect.

Just so you know, I have completely nerded out in this endeavor and have photographed each bundle, so that I could put them back in order after washing. That's probably something you should know about me: I'm really into systems.

So, here we go...

Something for me? Aww, thanks.

2009-12-31T15:27:46Z

Made a little something for myself as well. I lost the scarf I bought in Italy on the honeymoon, so I made myself a new one. This year I have a gray coat and a sneaking suspicion that I would soon own a DrikaB bag this Christmas in yellow and gray. I already had some super soft, black & white houndstooth fabric on hand, so I bought some fabric to match with a hint of yellow.

At first, I just sewed the two pieces together without any other padding, but after the crazy winds began to blow, I added in a layer of thermolam batting. Now it's a soft, cozy, wall of fabric to protect me from these ridiculous winds.

Oh, and I was right. Here is the great bag I got for Christmas. I love it!

See how happy I am now?

Another Zoo Quilt

2009-12-29T11:00:14Z

I made yet another quilt using the Alexander Henry 2D zoo fabric. I'm not obsessed or anything. I can't help it! Everyone loves this fabric and when they see examples of it, they want one too. This is a Christmas present commissioned for a friend's daughter.

This measures about 40 x 40 and is quilted with small six inch star bursts to mimic the little flower shapes on the front. The backing is a cloud patterned fabric specially requested to match the little girl's room.

Bridle Bag: Part 2

2009-12-27T15:33:19Z

It's been a busy couple of weeks here in my sewing room. I've been finishing up gifts almost every night. Of course, this could have been avoided if I wasn't such a hopeless precrastinaor and didn't wait until the last available week to finsh out everything. When will I learn?

Anyway, I can finally show you some of the things I've been making.

First up: The finished Bridle Bag and last minute matching Pony Tail Bag.

I finally finished up the Bridle Bag. It's going to a friend's daughter for Christmas. I personalized it with her name in embroidery instead of the horse's name. That way she can use for a long time. I hope she liked it.

And then I made a coordinating Pony Tail Bag. I had no idea that some Ponys need a little extra help, so they have fake tail extensions for shows. This bag will house the fake tail when not in use.

They are going to take some pictures of the bags in use, so I'll post them whenever I get them. I'm curious to see how they hold up, considering I've never made either of these before.

Crafternoon: Modern Women of Sewing

2009-12-27T15:20:00Z

I was at the New York Public Library a couple of weekends ago to attend another Crafternoon: Modern Women of Sewing. Denyse Schmidt, Heather Ross, and Liesl Gibson were there to talk about books from the library that inspire them and their work.

I had been looking forward to this Crafternoon for months. I love the work of these three women. Denyse Schmidt's quilting book was the first one I picked up when I began quilting and it gave me such a charge to see quilts that were modern and bold, as opposed to the old fashioned ones I had always seen growing up. (This was before I started reading blogs p.s., where this idea/style had already taken hold for years.) And I just love her fabrics! Same thing with Heather Ross - love her fabric, too. And Liesl's patterns are adorable!

Anyway, it was a treat to hear them speak and get to meet them afterwards.

I didn't craft anything this time, but I did peruse the books that they passed along. This quilt was from a book about West Virginia quilters. It was really quite interesting to the type of quilts people made based on what materials they had around, what type of pattern was popular, or what kind of event they were celebrating.

I really like this quilt from the book, so I sneaked a picture. I wish you could see the detail better. I don't know how many times I can tell myself before it sinks in, but I HAVE to get started on my own bed quilt. No more excuses.

Crafternoon: Ornaments

2009-12-07T00:43:21Z

I went to another Crafternoon this weekend - Ornament Edition - at Spacecraft in Brooklyn. That's Maura and her mom up there, who host the Crafternoons. Aren't they the cutest?

After heading straight for the cupcakes, I got down to business. This is the snowflake ornament I made using felt and embroidery thread. I traced a cookie cutter to get the pattern.

Now we have another ornament for our tree. His name is Frederick. Yes, we named the tree. We were trying to remember what kind of tree it was and I said, "A frederick?"

I think he feels a little naked right now. I'll have to get to work on the fabric garland/chain soon. Or maybe a popcorn chain? Hmm.

Pie!

2009-11-30T12:44:32Z

Mmm... a tasty morsel of my homemade pie made with fresh pumpkin guts. Thankfully, it's not the last tasty morsel I will be devouring because I ended up making two whole pies and two small ramekins of pie since I had extra mix left.

I brought the less attractive pie down to my family's house for thanksgiving. Everyone had some this year and they really enjoyed the graham cracker crust. All part of my master plan to win them over on my first pie. Who could resist cookies baked into pie?

Here's my very own pie in it's full beautiful glory. Well, not exactly beautiful. I did spill the filling over the edge and onto the bottom of the oven. Who wouldn't want a lovely burnt smell permeating their entire apartment? There was also a little bit of panic because the centers were not fully cooked. In the morning I popped them back in the oven and they were fine.

Oh well. Lessons learned. What's thanksgiving without a little anxiety?

Pumpkin & Paris

2009-11-16T02:30:57Z

This year I'm in charge of the pumpkin pie. It's about time! Pumpkin pie is my favorite pie of them all, so if it's my turn to make it then I am going for broke.

Step one: real pumpkin.

Last weekend I bought three pumpkins. Thanks to the Pioneer Woman's tutorial, I now have about 14.5 cups of fresh pumpkin at my disposal for the pie and any other delicous treats that might pop up.

Step two: research.

I watched Martha Stewart's thanksgiving special (paying special attention to the pie section), watched Throwdown with Bobby Flay where his pumpkin pie actually beats out the national pie winner, and surveyed twitter friends for tips and recipes. Thanks to my research, I think I'm going with a graham cracker crust - the winning element to Bobby Flay's pie. I know this will be a radical change for my family, but we have to aim for the best here.

Step three: buy the cutest yellow pie plate ever.

Actually, we have 12.5 cups of pumpkin left. We had to eat some of it immediately since it was so good. Etienne made some of his mom's pumpkin fritters with cinnamon sugar. With this much leftover pumpkin, I'm sure it will go into the weekend breakfast rotation.

It's been a bit quiet on the blog these last two weeks. I'm sorry. I've been busy making coffee sleeves, building puzzles, and pureeing pumpin. And I'm afraid I won't be around for another week because I'm going to Paris on Tuesday with my best friend.

When I'm back, I'll have the outcome of my pie efforts. Wish me luck.

Happy Thanksgiving!