How I Made Bleeding Vampire Cupcakes

I found the idea here and used this recipe for the Vanilla Cupcakes. ( Note to self: Next time fill the baking cups only halfway.) The blood on the inside and top was Raspberry Jelly mixed with Raspberry Syrup to make it more liquid. I used this recipe for the icing.

I made them for a Halloween party my kids were invited to where they were supposed to bring a treat. I was a bit disappointed when they came back with half of the cupcakes leftover, but then I realized I should have made a mini version. A kid standing in front of a table filled with sweats  usually wants to try as many different things as he or she can. A large cupcake was probably too much to take on. Well, we live and learn ( and enjoyed the leftovers.)

Happy Halloween!

The Ups and Downs of Life

I have had a lot of fun lately working on new projects and playing with my spinning wheel. Unfortunately within a span of 2 weeks my three kids have been sick and I have been so exhausted that I have managed just what had to be done. Well, it is over now and I am trying to get back.

With the leftover yarn from my striped sweater I made a hat for my niece. I used this stitch pattern, but I knit the hat top down and switched randomly between the lighter and darker yarn. I knit it on 4mm needles to make the stitches denser. I hope she likes it!

Then I dyed a merino/silk top and spun it into a 2-ply aran weight yarn. It amazes me how much the yarn puffs up after it is plyed and washed. It looked much thinner on the bobbin. The reason for this of course is, that the yarn on the bobbin is under tension. Also I find it difficult to know how much fiber to pull out to make the yarn the thickness I want it to be.

To help me figure this out I have started a spinning journal where I keep samples of my handspun yarn and write down how I made it. Also I think it would help if I compare my singles to commercial yarn so I can see the difference in thickness.  The other surprise is that while I spin the yarn I think it is fairly even and in the end it isn’t. I feel like an adventurer exploring a new country and have a lot of fun doing so. I was very proud when I managed to ply my new yarn evenly and it came out balanced!

I hope you enjoy whatever you are doing!

Too Much of a Good Thing?

In recent years we have turned our front yard into a mini orchard. There are 6 small apple trees and one sour cherry tree. We have Spartans and another kind whose name I don’t know. This year we had an amazingly large harvest. At first we picked the Spartans and were astonished how flawless the apples were. Then we picked the other kind and found out that the local wildlife prefers the bright red apples by far. I ended up with a large basket of apples that needed to be worked with right away and 4 and a half crates of apples which can be stored a while.

After surveying the bounty I bought an apple peel-core-slice thingy and I am glad I did, because it is very fast and turns the apples into pretty spirals.

So far I have made

• 5 batches of apple sauce
• 4 different kind of apple cakes and pies
• 2 kinds of apple strudel
• 3 batches of candy apples
• caramel apples (new recipe!)
• apple jelly
• apple crisp
• apple pancakes
• baked bagels with apples and cheese
• apples with Dulce de Leche

and I have given apples away to friends. There are still four crates full of apples left!

Also, now that it is October it means the quinces are ripe…