School is out and all the gift giving, baking and applauding is done! Unfortunately there is still is a lot to do around here, but I hope, that things return to normal soon. ( As normal as life can be with three kids out of school, that is.)
I have already dyed some silk yarn and just had an idea for a new colourway, so you can expect an update in my store soon. Thank you for your patience!
It is all blurry now!
to give you a photo of a cute little berry thief:
I hope, it will tie you over and distract you from my serious lack of blogging lately. The truth is I am simply overwhelmed by all that is required for this ending school year. There is also a bit of crafting involved which I will show you once it is finished. The other skill that is called for apparently is baking. Yesterday they were asking for 250 cookies and today 240 for another event. ( My contribution: old, trusty chocolate chip.
Never mind. If you are in need of some cupcakes I can recommend this recipe. Instead of the icing in the recipe I mixed powdered sugar with cream and crowned it with one smarties (or is it smarty, or smartie?) I tested it on a bunch of teenaged girls and my own kids. They all approved. There were only very small crumbs left.
Well, thank you for your understanding and I apologize in advance for any hysterical laughter or sudden tears that I might burst out with in the near future.
After all that rain and darkness it has been very pleasant to get some fresh Rhubarb from the garden. It is such a pretty plant. I baked one of my favourite cakes with it: Rhubarb Crumb Cake. I like it because it tastes great and is very fast to put together. You can use different fruit as well, but I recommend tart fruit like currants, gooseberries or sour cherries.
Rhubarb Crumb Cake – The Recipe
Preheat oven to 350F. Using a stand mixer or a food processor mix the following ingredients together:
200g soft butter, 175g sugar, 1 Pck Vanilla Sugar or 1tsp vanilla, 1 Egg, 400g flour and 2 tsp baking powder
until there are pea-sized crumbs throughout.When you squeeze the dough it will come together. Fill the bottom of a 10″ springform or a round baking pan with about 2/3 of the dough. Press dough into the pan.
Peel 750g Rhubarb and cut into bite sized pieces. Distribute Rhubarb evenly on top of the dough. Take the rest of the dough by the handfuls, squeeze it slightly and let the crumbs drop onto the fruit.
Bake for 45 – 55 minutes until golden brown.
Yesterday I was at a dance competition and it went really well. I have to admit it is a feeling like no other going from stage-fright to exhilaration within the span of a few minutes. A personal highlight for me was when the audience started to whistle and yell in appreciation. It felt wonderful. I can see that you could get quite addicted to that kind of rush.
But then being famous has its downsides: your loss of privacy for example. A few years ago we were sitting at a restaurant at the Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. Close to us was a young women wearing a hood, a baseball cap and large sunglasses. I kept looking at her thinking she must be someone famous. Sadly, I never found out.
The thing is, a celebrity is only special to you when you know him or her. One day my husband flew from Brazil to the US sitting next to a women who people kept asking for autographs. When the plane had an emergency landing she stood up and in order to soothe everyone’s nerves she started to sing. It turned out she was a famous Brazilian opera singer.
Tonight we are going out. I am going to wear my hoodie, hat and extra large sunglasses. Maybe someone is going to ask for my autograph.
Last weekend was party time! My oldest daughter turned 11 and had her friends over on Sunday. The party was a great success and breaking with tradition there was no cake being served. Instead we went out and bought fancy Goblets and made Ice-cream Sundaes. We had chocolate and vanilla ice-cream, whipped cream, strawberries, bananas, mini chocolate chips, M&Ms, caramel and chocolate sauce and small Italian waffles. They all could chose what they wanted. It was a lot of fun and much less work than a cake!
For her actual birthday she wanted Lemon Tart. This is the recipe ( makes 2 small 8inch or 1 large tart 11inch)
I love to use the baking pans with removable bottom.
Combine 1 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 cups of flour for the crust. Chill for 1/2 an hour.
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a bowl mix 2 cups of sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/3 cup of flour, 1 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel, 6 Tbsp lemon juice and 4 large eggs. Whisk just until the ingredients are mixed well, try not to make it foamy.
Press dough into baking pan. Pour lemon mixture onto crust. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the lower third of the oven. You want a nicely baked crust, but a light filling. Cover it with aluminum foil if it browns too much.
Let cool, remove from pan and dust with powdered sugar.
Here we go again: I had an Asthma flare-up, felt better, feeling worse now. It is really hard not to become frustrated, but that does not help anyone, does it? What does help is going to the beach, breathing in the salty air. Sometimes I walk, sometimes I just sit on a bench.
When I am on the beach I feel relaxed. There is not much I have to do: just breathe. It is a little vacation. But when I am at home I see all the things I should be doing: the laundry, the garden, the dishwasher. The list seems endless. And then there are also the fun things I miss out on.
But what I can do now is dream about all the projects I want to do some day. In my imagination I have a whole wardrobe full of cute skirts. Or how about a Fedora? And then there is also the fun I have with my handspun yarn. You start with a bag full of fluff and end up with something wearable. I watch it develop and change.
How about crazy carding some leftover yarn, shredded paper and torn fabric strips. Impossible? No, pick up Intertwined and you’ll be amazed about what you can do. Admittedly if you met me you know that I am not an eccentric person, but looking at this book it seems that it is a lot fun making yarn with whatever you can think of. And fun is what I need right now.
Another thing: When I opened the book I found an invitation to a local knitting group. Imagine, somebody went to the local book store, slipped in a little message for me to find. Isn’t it neat?
Hint #1:
Hint #2:
When I arrived at the set I felt a bit foolish at first, but in the end it was a lot of fun. The “neighbour” talked to me and showed me the fake props ( the telephone poles, some trees, the garbage, the mail boxes etc.) It is really interesting how much effort they put in to give it the right look.
My friend told me the other day how much she loves reading my blog especially when something goes wrong. So J, this one is for you.
In our last tap dance practice we had a substitute teacher, a 19 y/o who has been dancing since she could walk and probably been competing every year since she was 5. Talk about intimidating. It also did not help that she chewed her nails and looked absolutely bored while we practiced our performance.
Nevertheless she gave us many tips on how we could look better and taught us a new way to raise our arms. So she starts the music again and we try out the new arms and come to a point, where we stand in one line and raise one arm to the side, the other straight up. As I enthusiastically swing out my arm I slap my fellow dancer behind me right in her face, on her cheek.
Now I don’t know why this happened, either we were not in line or I turned my arm out too far (clearly!), but I could not help it, I cracked up laughing and went to the side of the stage to recover. Do you know the feeling when you can’t stop laughing even though you really should? Yeah, that is the one!
After a few moments I rejoined the group, we jump, turn and kick – and I kicked the same dancer in the foot! At that moment I almost lost it, as in rolling on the floor loosing it.
I tried to compose myself and finish the dance. It was hard! As soon as it was over I ran to her and apologized ( still laughing). She said she was OK, but made the following request:” Next time slap me on the other cheek, please!”
The competition is just 3 weeks away.
I saw Cat Bordhi’s videos on Youtube and decided to knit a Moebius Scarf with my handspun yarn.
The yarn is more or less worsted weight and it took 4oz. Here is how I did it:
Cast on 80sts ( Instructions are here) and knit first row as on the video, place marker
Row 2: *yarn-over, knit 2 together through the back loop* repeat until end of row
Row 3: purl all stitches
Repeat these two rows until you have yarn left for about four rows, ending with row 2. Use a matching crochet hook, pick the last knitted stitch and insert crochet hook.
Last row: *chain 3, slip-stitch around yarn-over loop, chain 3, slip-stitch into following knitted stitch* repeat until end of row, pull yarn through the last loop, darn in ends
This post is part of Fiber Arts Friday. Thank you for inviting me!
The weather here has been simply gorgeous! It snowed last week, but now the sun feels really warm.
I have found an old book with Easter Crafts and the girls and I have been working hard making Easter decorations. Actually the girls have done much more than me. It is interesting to see, how much they can do with just a little inspiration. I hope the Easter bunny appreciates it.
I have finally managed to see the movie Twilight and I am totally hooked again. When I read the series I could not put the books down and my family had to fend for themselves for a while. Right now they are actually filming New Moon here in the area and I can’t go and see it. So close and yet so far. But hey, if they need someone knitting in the background, I could do it!
A few years ago they filmed Deck the Halls just around the corner from our house and it was fascinating how they turned the area into Winterwonderland in the middle of summer. It is magical how they fake so much and yet it looks real on screen.
I hope, it is nice and sunny where you are!
Hot Chocolate - Skinny Striped
Caramel - Silk Yarn
Lollipop - variegated
Etsy Shop for SunnysideEllen