the next quilt?

I bought fabric today for the next quilt. unfortunately I don't know what design to use. so I looked through my two quilt books for some inspiration. I also noticed online that Denyse Schmidt sells a new pattern on her website.

I am a fan of her quilt designs, having made five of the ten quilts in her book. but the one pattern is $16 - nearly the same cost as the whole book. not sure I like it enough to splurge on the pattern - I might be able to make something similar without the kit anyway. will need to ponder more what design to use...

Christmas crafting

I gave a few homemade gifts this year in addition to the gardening apron featured earlier.

I made by brother a pillow, a wool felt number similar to the red one made previously.


an apron for my mom. I like the fabric, but I don't think I will use the pattern again. not really what I thought it would be.

holiday baking

so I have kept busy with some holiday baking while I have been home for Christmas with the fam. my Mom and I made cutout cookies. I am not a precision cookie decorator like Ang so they look a bit juvenile. the white bear was originally going to be a panda, but I thought it would be too hard to draw in icing, so it ended up being a little weird bear instead. my cousin thought it looked liked a Bumble so maybe that is what I will say I meant to make.


I also kept busy with the manufacture of cupcakes for Christmas, producing two different batches of filled cupcakes on Sunday (cupcake sweatshop). the first is a red velvet cupcake with the cream cheese filling and a cream cheese icing.




the second was a version of the snowball cupcake - chocolate cake, cream filling, marshmallow frosting, and coconut on top. vintage looking (or possibly just vintage) decorations from the local cake decorating shop.

merry christmas

I have had a Christmas cactus since about 1998. it has bloomed two or three times in all the time I have had it - usually well after Christmas. this year - a half dozen blooms before Christmas.

more Christmas crafting

I finished another crafted Christmas gift - a gardening apron.

I am almost done with all of my Christmas shopping (yay!).

I picked up a new candy bar the other day - Bubulubu. terrific name. and delicious. marshmallow layer, strawberry jelly layer, all coated in chocolate.

making doughnuts

Ang sent me a link to this - a doughnut maker on Williams-Sonoma. silly price for what it is, but I like the vision of making plates of mini doughnuts for all occasions.


I did a little more research, and came across this:

The Dough-nu-matic makes mini doughnuts, but is automated, where the perfect amount of dough is dispersed into a little built in fryer. this kind of blows my mind. it can't work, can it? because if it did work, everyone would have one, right? maybe it is hazardous like the Bluth family's Cornballer.

super chocolate cupcakes with chocolate mousse filling

I made some cupcakes...triple chocolate chip cake, filled with a chocolate fudge mousse, frosted with a Ghirardelli chocolate ganache, and garnished with three kinds of chocolate chips.





that's what happens when someone suggests "chocolate, chocolate, chocolate" as the kind of cupcake to make for a birthday party....