The kitties gave me the twenty-four hr menses off from sewing yesterday, although at that topographic point was enough of hand-stitching, equally I'm simply almost to say you. Smitty spent much of the twenty-four hr menses inward his clubhouse, which meant Sadie had the locomote yesteryear rung on the kitty pole.
My twenty-four hr menses started alongside Tree #11 of Twelve Trees for Christmas. My friend "Anonymous" asked me to link to the designing for the trees again. It's an eBook from Mary Corbett, together with you lot tin purchase the majority correct here.
Tree #11 had 3 new-to-me stitches. I'd already done the woven fill upwards stitch on the tree trunk. Next upwards was the "griffin stitch." The most challenging purpose of this stitch was getting the diagonal lines parallel together with lined upwards alongside the intersections of the vertical together with horizontal stitches. I outset took long horizontal stitches, together with hence long vertical stitches. Then, I used a similar a shot border to conduct my needle-ups together with needle-downs to line upwards the intersections.
That used the concluding flake of the low-cal light-green floss on the diagonals. That floss is ane from Weeks Dye Works. I purchased it equally a purpose of a kit when I stitched the Vintage Miniature Sewing Machines quilt lo these many years ago.
The floss was unlike from what I'm used to alongside DMC together with Cosmo. It's a cotton wool floss, equally they are, but it lacks the shimmer of DMC or Cosmo. I'm non certain what's unlike almost it, but I'm glad to last finishing upwards the concluding of it.
So the adjacent measuring was to couch over the "X" intersections of low-cal light-green floss.
When I finished that, I did my grocery shopping together with ran some errands. Getting an before start this time, the grocery store was relatively tame. I was sort of wishing I'd made a longer list.
When I got home, I had some lunch, together with hence tipped dorsum inward the reclining chair together with went dorsum to run on the ease of it. I'm telling you...I could non pose it down. This was the most fun slice to stitch. The adjacent measuring was to weave circles about the remaining intersections. It was finished off alongside a whipped chain stitch about the outside, together with a scalloped buttonhole chain stitch across the bottom.
I was biting my fingernails almost the buttonhole chain stitch, but it turned out to last super easy.
When I had it all finished, I did a fiddling flake of housework. Smitty was resting on his soon-to-be-RV-cubby alternative. The kitties are withal 'spicious of this, but they are using it. I retrieve they'll similar it much meliorate when it's out inward the RV together with gives them each a infinite of their own.
He stayed at that topographic point equally the Sun laid together with he was withal at that topographic point yesteryear dark.
He didn't fifty-fifty come upwards downward when his dinner was served.
While he was napping, I tried scaling downward some other cake recipe to teach inward a cake for two. This is the Sticky Cranberry Gingerbread cake from the NYTimes. You tin find the master copy recipe correct here. Sometimes you lot can't click on those without a NYTimes subscription, hence my apologies if that link won't run for you. I'm simply almost to give you lot my scaled downward recipe.
When I canned Cranberry Pepper Jam together with Cranberry Chutney a few weeks ago, I way over shot the grade on how many bags of cranberries I'd need. I ended upwards freezing a bag, together with I withal had a partial handbag left over. Can you lot retrieve of a meliorate argue for baking than leftover cranberries? Because correct at the minute it seemed similar the best see ever. So anyway...here's how it looked when it came from the oven.
It's baked inward a 6-inch cake pan. Measuring, I figured out that a 6-inch cake pan has around one-half the majority of a 9-inch cake pan, together with hence I cutting the recipe inward half. It was tardily to do...no partial eggs involved. Also, I skipped the measuring for marbling the cranberries into the cake. When I made this equally a full-sized cake a piece back, I see the marbling was a waste matter of time. It actually simply distributed the cranberries throughout the cake, together with the marbling was lost. In this case, I plopped the cranberry "compote" on locomote yesteryear of the cake, together with the cake baked upwards correct over the locomote yesteryear of it. When nosotros cutting into it, it looked similar this.
I had a fiddling problem getting it out of the pan because of the parchment inward the bottom. The parchment wanted to come upwards up alongside the cake. I retrieve I'd simply utilisation Baker's Joy inward the future. It was disappointing when I discovered nosotros had no Redi-Whip because I retrieve that would pick out been a dainty topping, but nosotros enjoyed it simply equally is. The tart cranberries are a dainty contrast to the sweetness of the cake. There is simply a fiddling flake of pepper inward the recipe, which seems weird inward a cake. It actually gave the gingerbread a dainty depth of flavor...and lots of ginger didn't wound ane bit.
So here's my recipe, adapted to brand this a cake for two:
Sticky Cranberry Gingerbread for Two
adapted from the NYTimes
Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
1 Cup Fresh or Frozen Cranberries
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 loving cup (1/2 stick) Unsalted Butter
1/3 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Whole Milk
1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
2 tablespoons Molasses
3/4 Cups All-purpose Flour
1/2 Tablespoon Ground Ginger
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/8 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/8 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
1/2 Tablespoon Grated Fresh Ginger
Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. together with line a 6-inch foursquare or circular baking pan alongside parchment.
In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir together cranberries, granulated saccharide together with 1 tablespoon water. Stir the cranberries over medium estrus until the saccharide is completely dissolved together with cranberries shape a sauce that is syrupy together with bubbling thickly, almost 10 minutes. Aim to pick out almost one-half the cranberries broken down, alongside the residue to a greater extent than or less whole.
In a split saucepan, stir together the butter, brownish sugar, milk, maple syrup together with molasses over medium heat. Bring it to simply barely a simmer together with and hence take it from the heat. Do non allow it come upwards to a boil, or the mixture may curdle.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, baking soda together with dark pepper. Beat inward the butter-maple syrup mixture together with and hence compaction inward the eggs. Stir inward the ginger. (I used a whisk for this step.)
Scrape the batter into the pan. Drop fatty dollops of cranberry sauce onto the surface of the cake batter. Transfer the cake to the oven together with bake it until the locomote yesteryear is line of piece of job solid together with a toothpick inserted inward the centre comes out clean, almost twoscore minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire baking rack together with allow the cake cool completely before eating it.
Devour alongside keen gusto.
* * * * *
Okay, hence that brings me to this morning. I've traced out Tree #12 of the Twelve Trees for Christmas, together with I'll teach started on it today. Every ane of those fiddling leaves is done inward fishbone stitch.
I mentioned previously that I had an see almost how to run upwards this into a fiddling quilt, but together with hence I read that Temecula Quilt Company is having a "Tiny Trees" sew-along starting Dec fourth together with running daily through the 14th. There volition last a 2-1/2 inch pieced tree every twenty-four hr menses during the sew-along. She doesn't lift how many trees volition last included, but I'll concur off together with bring together in. Just perhaps the 2 projects tin last sewn into one.
It's the best fourth dimension of the morning time inward Kittyland. Here's where I left Sadie when I came upstairs to write today's post.
I retrieve I'll bring together her nether the quilt together with teach stitching on the concluding fiddling tree. Also on today's agenda is to create some laundry together with run upwards the binding on It's Raining Cats together with Dogs.