On bonny Easter day

Meeting the Easter Bunny

by Rowena Bennett

On Easter morn at early dawn

Before the cocks were crowing

I met a bob-tail bunnykin 

And asked where he was going.

"Tis in the house and out the house

a tispy, tipsy-toeing, 

Tis round the house and 'bout the house

a-lighlty I am going." 

"But what is that of every hue 

You carry in your basket?"

"Tis eggs of gold and eggs of blue;

I wonder that you ask it. 

"Tis chocolate eggs and bonbon eggs

And eggs of red and gray, 

For every child in every house 

On bonny Easter day." 

He perked his ears and winked his eye 

And twitched his little nose; 

He shook his tail -- what tail he had -- 

And stood up on his toes. 

"I must be gone before the sun; 

The east is growing gray; 

Tis almost time for bells to chime." -- 

So he hippety-hopped away.

When I was growing up, my mom would read my that poem to me every Easter eve and in the morning I put on my Easter dress (and frequently tights, which I hated) and got to hunt for eggs!  No eggs this year except for the ones that came out of these chickens, but I wanted a springy, new dress for Easter brunch at Veronica's. I bought this very loud fabric about a year ago to make a dress using a different pattern, but I like the waist shaping on Simplicity 2145.  The fabric is flowy and light - perfect for summer in South Texas. I may still add the additional sash at the waist and/or a cap sleeve.

My contribution to the brunch was casatiello, a traditional Easter bread from Naples, which is basically a sandwich in and of itself.  The dough is enriched with eggs, butter, and milk (tripple-threat!) and studded with  gruyere and crisped up salami.  It is wonderful toasted  and so rich you don't need any butter.  For dinner, I cooked some sunny-side-up eggs and we finished off the loaf.  This bread is so good, I definitely won't be waiting for the next bonny Easter day to make it again.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm travelling for work today, but I wanted to leave behind something to let Geoff know I'm thinking of him.  Valentine's Day gets a bit tricky since it falls just after his birthday and not long after Christmas, so my good gift ideas have usually run dry by now!  So I've turned to the sentimental and hidden love notes for him to find.  

Some are obvious - "I like how you roll" taped to his steering wheel - while others are going to take a bit longer to find - "I think you're cool" is stuck to a frozen lasagna I made for him to eat while I'm gone.  Depending on what you already have in the house, you may want to buy your sweetie a few special treats like a fancy beer from a local microbrewery or some wasabi peanuts (okay, these might be specific to my guy).  

Want to show someone you think they are great today (or any time)? You can print out some love notes here.  Consider it my Valentine's Day gift to you.

Sweet and Simple Felt Mobile

Since my days of gluing paper doilies to construction paper hearts, Valentine's Day has always struck me as the most handmade of the holidays.  There is just something so sweet about a lopsided heart made of simple supplies.  Last year I made a knit Valentine's Day wreath, and this year I wanted to bring the love indoors.  Using some cheap craft felt, I cut out hearts in two sizes.  Some I layered and some I left plain to create a total of 32 hearts which I strung up on transparent thread.  The base of the mobile is actually a macrame hoop (although I didn't know that when I stumbled across it at the craft store).  I actually bought this for another project, but it makes a great base for a mobile.  An embroidery hoop would also work well. The biggest challenge was figuring out how to hang it.  That was solved by using loops of yarn to attach the hoop to the screws that hold the light cover in place.  This would be a fun project with kids and you could go upscale with gorgeous wool felt or really old school with paper, doilies, and glitter.  Definitely use glitter.

January in Instagram

 This month was so busy, I can't even believe that it started out in Kansas with snow and stomach flu.

Our friend Maria came to stay with us for a week.  She lived here for two years so we took her to all her old hang outs and showed her the new Riverwalk extension.

The day Maria left, Jason and Abby came to stay.  Abby was here because we organized a conference, but they stayed through the weekend to hang out.  We had lots of tacos and, of course, visited a mission (we did the Alamo last year).

These flowers were an unexpected thank you gift.

Hank loves to sit up in her cat town and look down on us.

For Christmas, I got the Smitten Kitchen cookbook and only made it to the first page before I decided I HAD to have the apple-sour cream pancakes.

I also got the Super Natural Everyday cookbook and made this rice salad featuring forbidden rice.  Somehow I thought it would be hard to get - turns out you can get it in the bulk bin for $4 a pound.

Scrabble Night!!!! (That's Geoff's game face)

 

Celebrated Kansas Day on the 29th with this gorgeous quilled necklace my mom made.

Finally got the last 7 years worth of photos (since I bought a digital camera) printed and in albums!

Whew!  Quite a month.

Wishing you a (Retroactively) Merry Christmas!

I hope those of you celebrating had a wonderful Christmas.  We were in Kansas with my family.  These are our stockings on Christmas morning - the stockings were made by my Grandma and mom and the quilted fireplace screen was just made by my mom this year. En route, we stopped in Oklahoma to catch up with my aunt and cousins.  We dropped off some homemade gingerbread play dough (made from Sugarbelle's recipe) for my cousins' sons.  It smells exactly as good as you imagine and comes together in no time.

We made it to Kansas ahead of the snow and did all sorts of wonderful Christmas things like playing Trivial Pursuit, making Rice Krispie treat ornaments, and having dinner on the Plaza with my mom's sister's family before we were all stricken with the stomach flu.

But let's back up, the Christmas season started off way back in November when we attended the annual lighting of all of the trees on the campus of the University of the Incarnate Word.  Every tree on campus is outlined in multicolored lights that twinkle all season.  It's gorgeous.

When I was complaining of a lack of Christmas spirit, my friend Katy took me down to the Riverwalk where we sat outside and drank prickly pear margaritas.  Totally getting into the idea of a relatively warm Christmas!  The Riverwalk Christmas lights are fantastic, like a fairy land (and that's not just the tequila talking).

In the Christmas spirit, I began to plan a special treat for my mom.  She loves stollen, but my dad hates the fluorescent candied fruit that so often fills it.  Instead, I soaked dried apricots and cranberries in a combination of whiskey and cider for a week before taking the fruit to Kansas with us.  I baked up the stollen recipe from Bread Baker's Apprentice with a (too thick) layer of almond paste in the middle.  It was good fresh, but I liked it best toasted with butter and I found the more muted fruit to be festive (and less frightening).

Giving handmade gifts is one of my favorite aspects of Christmas and this year was no exception.  I was particularly busy at work these last few months so some got finished once I was already in Kansas, but they were no less welcome.  Here are few of my favorites:

For my mom, a pair of Cozy Toes socks knit from yarn she picked out while we were in Portland.  She knew they were coming but had no idea what they would look like.  (In fact, due to some facebook complaining about my lack of time, she thought they were coming unfinished.)

Mom also got a new cover for her sewing machine (which I made good use of in finishing up this and other presents) based on an applique from Ellison Lane Quilts.

For dad, I made a custom-etched casserole dish that no one will ever walk away with from a potluck. Etching glass is so easy and  can be done with etching cream that you can pick up at any craft store.  It elevates inexpensive glassware into a cherished gift and I think it would be a great way to personalize bakeware that might be on a wedding registry. I also made a casserole carrier to tote it around based on this Sew4Home pattern.  Somehow I neglected to take a picture of that part.

By far my favorite gift this year was this lovable guy.  He's based on Otto the Lovable Monster with some liberal modifications.  I made him for a very special two month old and wanted him to match the That's Not my Monster board book by Fiona Watt.  I love these touchy-feely books that all follow the same format ("That's no my monster, his ears are too scratchy") until the final page ("That's my monster, his ears are so fluffy.").  So I made his to match the final monster.  I think I did a pretty good job.  You may recognize this present idea from this dragon and the orangutan up in my header.  I'm sure it will come up again because there are about twenty more books I haven't made a knit version of yet!

The holidays - even, and maybe especially being sick - gave me time to slow down, appreciate being surrounded by people I love, and rejuvenate me for the excitement and business of 2013.  I hope you are looking forward to this new year too!

O, Christmas Tree!

The tree is up (even though the air conditioning was on while decorating it) and that means the Christmas season is really here!  I changed a few things from last year.  The yarn pompom garland was cute, but sort of overwhelmed the small tree, so it is now a part of our birthday decorations.

I do love the look of garland so I made this simple star and sequin garland from the Creature Comforts blog.  For the clay, I used Crayola Model Magic which costs $3 and is extremely light weight.  Add 97 cents of sequins and you are all set.

I've been wanting a new tree-topper for a few years.  The felt angel tied to the top of the tree looked more like she was being held captive than a festive decoration.  I'm not usually one for sparkle, but this time of year?  The more the better!

This is a craft project with a huge payoff.  I love the way that it looks, but it is made with just some poster board and the template from Martha Stewart.  Rather than attach it to dowel rod, I cut away part of the back star and inserted a tube of rolled paper.  A coat of gold paint and a thick layer of chunky gold glitter and I've got a new topper that I love!  Are you crafting any new holiday decor this year?

Giving Thanks

After a lot of travelling this fall, staying in San Antonio for Thanksgiving was a welcome opportunity to relax and give thanks for wonderful friends.  Summers in south Texas are miserable, but it means that we can eat Thanksgiving dinner outside!  I baked a large, braided loaf of cranberry-walnut celebration bread from the Bread Baker's Apprentice.  Between the enriched dough and the sweetened cranberries, it's a rich bread fit for a feast and delicious toasted.  We had the leftovers for breakfast on Black Friday.  Then we sat on the couch through three James Bond movies, far from the maddening crowds!  I hope you all had restful breaks spent with loved ones.  Now here comes Christmas!

Easy-Peasy Halloweeny

Did you're October zip by so fast you haven't even bought a single piece of fun-sized candy, yet?  Thankfully, this project is so quick and easy that you could finish it before the trick-or-treaters arrive (or buy the supplies the weekend after Halloween and save them for next year)!  If you have little ones, this is a great way to get them involved in the crafting process.  The ornaments on the wreath are made of balsa wood and run about 50 cents at Joann fabrics where you can also pick up an inexpensive black wreath and a roll of orange ribbon.  I used acrylic paint (and googly eyes!) for my ornaments but they would be great to let kids color in with markers.  Once the paint was dry, I just hot-glued them to the wreath and added tied a bow based on the tutorial I found here.  I love how it came out - sweet, not scary - continuing my Halloween decorating theme.

Happy Halloween!

Christmas in July: Gifts for Him

I'm calling this my "Gifts for Him" post, but just like my "Gifts for Her" and "Knit Gifts" posts, these can be adapted to just about any recipient.  I hate to generalize, but I frequently find men harder to craft for.  One option that I frequently rely on is taking something utilitarian and customizing it for the recipient.  I love monograms and the bespoke air they lend to just about any object.  There are a few ways that you can add a monogram.  For larger monograms, I like to do applique.  This is chef's apron I made for my dad last year using this pattern - I think the checks do a nice job of hiding stains.  Then I added a fabric "Q" and stitched tightly around the edges to keep it from fraying.  Personal and useful!.  

Embroidery is a classic.  Last Christmas, I sewed my very fashionable brother a handmade tie out of Kona cotton with a monochromatic Q on it.  This can also be done quite easily on a purchased tie, handkerchiefs, or any number of other things.  As favors for a bridal breakfast I threw for my friend Sarah, I stitched these handkerchiefs for each woman in attendance.  It's so much classier than a wad of Kleenex for dabbing your eyes.

A somewhat more unusual method is glass etching.  Etching paste can be found at any craft store and used to customize inexpensive tumblers. I used contact paper to create a stencil of Geoff's monogram and just applied the paste according to the directions on the bottle. The monograms for this or any project are easy to design using any word processing program or by searching for free fonts online.  I hope these ideas inspire you and stay tuned next week for Gifts for Kids.

Christmas in July: Knit Gifts

Alternate Post Title: Shameful Gift Admissions.  Winter accessories are a popular Christmas gift, but hand knits are a bit more luxurious and a lot more full of love.  However, knitting generally does not fall into  the last minute gift category - a fact I repeatedly forget.  Take, for example, these gloves that I wanted to give to my Grandma the Christmas before last, but I didn't finish until nearly Halloween.  

Luckily, my Grandma is a very patient women.  This Ringwood pattern from Knitty is perfect for gifting because the stitch pattern is extremely stretchy.  I knit the smallest size for my grandma because she has small hands, but long fingers.  The stitch stretched so much that they fit my big ol' hands, too!  These were knit in some gorgeous alpaca yarn that I picked up from a farm in upstate New York the morning of the wedding of some dear friends.  I'd been waiting for a special project to use it and this was it!

You think 10 months is a long wait?  I finally gave this scarf to my brother 3 years after I started it (and made the mistake of telling him about it!).  This Binary scarf spells out his initials in case he looses it around other nerds.  The scarf is knit in the round, which means that there is no "wrong" side.  However, it also means that you are basically knitting two scarves - so start now!

Okay, have I scared you yet?  Don't worry, there are plenty of knit gifts you can knock out in just a few nights.  This R2D2 hat is a great gift for any Star Wars lover in your life.  I finished this in a few nights while watching TV.  Hat patterns are abundant and can be customized to any recipient., so they make great gifts.  The mushroom hat up above was my first-ever knit hat and Kevin still wears it (at least when I'm around).

And finally, a pattern for those times when you need a gift right now.  Just knit a rectangle of garter stitch and wrap around a sachet of lavender and cedar.  Add a felt head and legs to make a sheep to keep your wool safe from moths!  Happy knitting!

Previous editions of Christmas in July can be found here and here.

p.s. If you want more details about my knitting habits, let's be friends on Ravelry!

Christmas in July: Gifts for Her

Wow.  Week Two of my series (Week One is Here) and I"m already running behind.  Don't be like me, get your Christmas crafting done early!  Today I have two quick projects, perfect for the women in your life.  I loved both of them so much that I made extras for myself as well!  The first is this bird's nest necklace that I made following these instructions from Sarah Ortega (who also sells them in Etsy shop if you don't want to make your own).  The trickiest part of making these is finding the right beads.  I had my heart set on robin's egg blue, and I think these come pretty close, but I'd love to find some beads that look like natural eggs.  Once you have the beads, wire, and chain, it's just a matter of bending the wire until it looks right to you.  I made two necklaces and a pin in under an hour last Christmas and I get compliments on my necklace all the time.


The second gift this week was driven by my own needs.  I'm pretty good about taking reusable bags with me to the grocery store but I frequently find myself out running errands without them.  This tote from Sew, Mama, Sew measures about 12"x12" but zips up into a handy package about 3 1/2" square and about 1 inch thick.  It's plenty small to stay in my purse until I need it.  The cashiers at the sewing store are always particularly impressed.  I used quilting cotton which is great option since it comes in any possible pattern and you can customize it for each recipient - favorite sports team, cartoon characters, anything.  I couldn't find it in my local stores, but if you are looking for an even thinner and lighter-weight version, you could try and find rip-stop nylon.  Who says practical gifts have to be ugly? 

Friends, Fun, and Fireworks

The last week has been bursting with friends.  Last Friday, we drove up to Ft. Worth for the wedding of our friends Dawn and Jim.  Dawn had her dress custom made and it is so perfectly her.  The reception was held at a really nice RV park (sounds crazy, actually crazy-awesome) which boosted the retro-kitsch vibe that was also very much in the bride and groom's style.

Our friend Maria befriended a local chicken and Dawn brought out her friend Abe (long story).  Geoff was the last person to go get cake, so they gave him a half-pound piece (he had about three bites, then pushed it aside and I ate it - I have a major cake weakness).  These giraffes were our place cards and now hang out on our bookshelf.

Quite a few of our Pennsylvania friends flew in for the wedding (although only a few still live in PA) and it was great opportunity to catch up in person instead of on Facebook.  We only had a few days with most of them, but our Frank came back to San Antonio with us for a four-day visit.

I had to work most of the week, but Frank and Geoff rented some bikes and toured the town.  Of course, they went to the Alamo (they failed to find the basement), but they also looped around the McNay, and tried on some fancy new hats.

On the Fourth, we had a cookout over at the Holtz' and entertained the kids with bubbles (left over from the wedding) and runs through the sprinkler while the adults relaxed and ate way too much 7-layer dip. Man that stuff is good.  It's a good thing I only have it every five years or so.

Mike's niece and nephew are visiting for a few weeks and Veronica got them matching flag shirts and made them pose for a series of increasingly ridiculous portraits.  I call this one "bored at Six Flags."

After last year's drought, we were excited to shoot off fireworks.  I think the adults were nearly as excited as the kinds and they graciously shared their sparklers.

Obviously, I had to make some things for the party, because that is just how I roll.  I had my favorite tart crust from 101 Cookbooks in the freezer so I baked that up and filled it with peach butter and berries.  Never one to stop at just one desert, I made red velvet graham crackers which were combined with Veronica's homemade marshmallows into insanely decadent s'mores.  To channel the kids' sugar highs, I helped them make pinwheels that work like gangbusters: