Holiday Cookie Baking

Every year, in honor of the holiday season, the twins, TK and KT, host cookie baking weekend.  It's a weekend where a bunch of us get together to, you guessed it, bake cookies. 

It is a 2 1/2 day cookie creation extravaganza where hundreds of cookies in over a dozen different varieties are made.

 

We're talking everything from raspberry thumbprints,

 

to cherry cookies,

 

 to rainbow cookies,

 

to rugelach,

 

to the classic chocolate chip,

 

and several varieties of truffles.

 

Everyone takes turns mixing, scooping, baking, cooling, and wrapping cookies.  There might also have been some smooshing and icing involved along the way. (I'll never tell, but here are some pictures of what that might look like. :-D )

 

 

By the end of the weekend, I didn't want to ever see another......

Who am I trying to kid?  I love cookies!

I can't wait for next year,
Joyce

Singing Hedgehogs

This was too cute and I had to share it.

Happy Holidays Everyone!




May the year ahead be filled with fibery goodness for us all,
Joyce

Giant bugs are coming for us!

During my summer visit to GiGi, we spotted a huge (dare I say ginormous) beetle.  Being the bug fan that I am, I held it while pictures were taken. (Crazy, right?)

Apparently it wasn't ready for it's close-up (or thought we were going to try to eat it, EW!) and kept trying to run out of my hands.  We took the hint and let it go quickly.

 However, for the bug phobic of you (I'm sorry), you should know:

"He went that way."

No, no, the other way,
Joyce

P.S. I heard a rumor that I was getting some yummy Tomatoes for Christmas.  Yay! I can't wait!

Mmmm... marshmallows

As a strict vegetarian of 8 years or so, I haven't had a 'real' marshmallow in a long time.  But I missed them. Oh, how I missed them.

Then at the NYC Vegetarian food festival last year, I discovered Sweet & Sara.  They make amazing marshmallows that vegetarians and vegans can both enjoy. 

I rediscovered them at Whole Foods a couple of weeks ago and might be enjoying them a little too much.  This is my third pack in two weeks.

Mmmm, toasted coconut,
Joyce

Delay of Game

So it's finals week for me which means test giving and tons of grading (both tests and papers alike), but sadly, little time to look at pretty yarn.

So until I return with talk of knitting and such, I will leave you with brass sheep. 

They, like the elephants a few weeks back, are part an exhibit by Peter Woytuk that ranges up and down Broadway.  The sheep are currently surrounded by a mini-forest of Christmas trees for sale. 

I don't think I'd want to have to shear these sheep,
Joyce

Shared solitude

One of the things I enjoyed most about camping this summer was spending time with GiGi. 
We knit, talked, rode bikes, and, on occasion, stared thoughtfully at water together. 

I also really enjoyed getting to know her kids as teenagers.  They're growing into some pretty awesome people.  (I would put in a picture, but they'd never forgive me. ;-D)

Would you like to join me for some water staring?

Nice, isn't it?
Joyce

Camping Shawl

While I was camping with GiGi this summer, the main project I brought with me was a simple garter stitch shawl.  The yarn I used was a lovely, warm angora, wool, and silk handspun that Athie gave me for Christmas last year. 

While this may seem like a wonderful idea, the family was looking at me like I was crazy because it was a hot, steamy week in Arkansas in June when we went camping. 

I had actually started it near the end of May in NYC which, as some of you may know, can be nice and cool.  But it was one of only two projects that I'd brought with me to work on at GiGi's house and I'd finished the other one on the flight in. 

Yet, as it turns out, I barely worked on it while I was there.  GiGi had a friend that she wanted to give a lace shawl, but she's not that fond of lace knitting (crazy, I know!).  So we bartered a trade. She offered to knit a long overdue item that I'd been meaning to make (as a thank you gift for someone) on the condition that I would knit the shawl for her. 

How could I say no to that? I'd been putting off knitting that hat (yes, I said hat) for over a year.  So she gave me some yarn (100% Silk, Pingouin Pure Soie) and one of my own designs to knit. 

The Ceuta Shawl is the second shawl design that I published when I was starting out, so it had been several years since I had knit it.  I really enjoyed knitting it and it only took me about four vacation days to complete. 

 

It wasn't until after I got home (and into the air conditioning) that I finished the angora Camping Shawl.  And I almost immediately cast on another one.  That one is knit in a Merino and Silk hand dyed yarn. 

Unfortunately, the dyer has since stopped dyeing.  (I hear it's the only way to live.)  The colorway is called Canned Peaches.  I call it 'Wow-that's-a-fabulous-orange-yarn.' 

The yarn was also given to me by Athie (for a birthday during her pre-spinning days).  She has fantastic taste in yarn, doesn't she?  It also seems that she knows my color preferences a little too well.

Not that I'm complaining,
Joyce


P.S. I forgot to mention that the Camping Shawl is free on Ravelry.  It's knit side to side in garter stitch and is great for restful knitting in between big, complicated projects. download now

Music under the stars

The Time Warner Center has their holiday stars up again. 

They're one of my favorite decorations of the season.



Unfortunately, they also mark the start of Christmas knitting season. 
Pardon me while I panic,
Joyce