They are fine

We made these potato doughnuts last week. Towards the end of the batch we tired of rolling out the dough and cutting doughnut shapes. I liked the way the little blobs of dough we threw in at the end turned out best.

Tis the season

This is my current scarf relaxing with some of the pastries we enjoyed today. Knitting Contessa has been posting interviews with crafters (me today) and recipes for handmade gifts if you need some ideas. I mailed off all my Pay-It-Forward gifts, Cristina. I'm in the clear now and can rest easy with you and Benjamin Franklin!

Button crafts

This is a very addictive craft project from an old Martha Stewart Kids. 

A lighter gingerbread cake

I've been making this gingerbread snacking cake from Martha. This time around I switched out the molasses for agave syrup in one cake and brown rice syrup in the other. The spice mixture comes through a lot stronger. I wish I had kept track of which syrup went into which cake. I'm going to try this with cookies next. I'm shuffling the spice mixture around as well. I like cardamon. This post is to remind me to take notes, or repeat the mistakes of the past!

The Three Kings Go Shopping

A Small Miracle by Peter Collington is about a nativity set that gets ready for Christmas. There are no words. I like to listen as people read it.

Mario Kart

Mario Kart fans, I don't know if you caught Cassie Smith's Mario Scarf in the latest issue of  Nintendo Power, but here's Cassie's blog for photos and story. It's beautiful. If you still can't get enough Mario love, listen to this. Listen to it over and over until your whole house can sing it. The three inches of striped scarf in the photo is another stab at the Gap scarf. The cobbler's husband has no shoes! 

Raku firing and dates

We did a small raku firing outside the studio today and I had to borrow an orphaned bowl to be a part of it. I was going to use the dates for some tea bread, but we ate them. This post is to remind me to be prepared when good things come my way.

Cardiff sweater

Looking through old albums, I remembered taking this in 1985 somewhere in Cardiff and wondering if I would ever have a sweet little boy who would wear red cabled sweaters! I used a cable from a baby sweater similar to B Walker's Four-Rib Braid in Second Treasury and complicated things a little with a Double Wave on each side from Third Treasury.

With Thanksgiving behind us already, I am determined to slow the holiday season down. Last year I promised myself I would look into gingerbread and the new issue of Martha has me curious about the wood grain cardamon cookies.