Brenda's Just Deserts

Brenda had her bridal shower this weekend and asked me to make and bring a dessert. I wanted to make something really special for her and finally decided on puff pastry vol-au-vent with lemon custard filling and topped with sweated, sugared strawberries. I don't own a vol-au-vent cutter, so these are technically bouchee pastries, but vol-au-vent sounded cooler. I was very pleased with the way these turned out. I stayed up literally all night making the pastry dough fresh and and from scratch; formed, baked and cooled the shells. The lemon custard was actually a second attempt after a scrapped vanilla cream custard version. This filling was much simpler and not nearly as fussy and included egg yolks, butter, and fresh lemon juice. The tartness of the lemon was perfect with the sugared strawberry. I used a pastry bag to fill them and actually assembled them at the party, hurried and in a corner, but I was pleased with how pretty they were! They were a hit and well worth the effort. In the future, these would be a snap to make if you have some frozen puff pastry and fresh lemons on hand.

Seasonal (sweat)Shop

Here is part of the new Fall Line of seasonal scrubs. I cut out quite a few scrubs the other day and sewed these 3 so they could be worn ASAP. I made pretty good time on the leaf and Halloween tops, but that star one was a bit of a bother. It was a 2 yard piece of un-labeled cut fabric that we found in her new house and is very pretty. We literally unearthed it in a cupboard and therefore weren't sure of the fiber content, but it has stars that are some sort of plastic or vinyl that are applied and not printed on the fabric. I laid it out on the ironing board and began folding and pressing...only to MELT the stars with the first contact of the iron! I wasn't sure whether I should abandon the project or proceed. In the end I successfully made a scrub out of it, but I had to press all the seams and folds somewhat blindly by laying another piece of fabric between the fabric and the iron! I am very pleased with the finished shirt and it survived it's initial laundering/drying in a medium heat dryer. Oh how festive our floor will be this week! :)

Sock Blockers!

I have always wanted wooden sock blockers but they are always so exorbitantly priced when you find them in antique shops. My parents and I stayed with my sister and her husband in August so that we could wander through Gold Rush Days at their fairgrounds. Mom and I each got a pair of wooden sock blockers for $10! We were thrilled! This vendor also had a single pair of stocking blockers, so we split the pair and each got one for $8 as I recall. They were in pretty good shape, but I did scrub them down in my tub once we got them here, and then Mom took them home and sanded them. I just got mine back this weekend and will sometime soon rub them down with a beeswax wood finish I have. And of course I had to try some of my knitting on them! We were even at a yarn shop that weekend and saw a brand new, single and plastic sock blocker from Fibertrends for $24.95, so I am very happy with these. Very seldom do I ever block socks, but I've just always wanted some wooden blockers. Maybe if I ever have some semblance of a sewing room some day, I'll hang them up on the wall!

While I was home I had to get out the Elizabethan hose I knit for my mother--just so I could try them out on the blocker! I knit these several years ago when I was just learning to spin. My mother sews reproduction clothing and costumes and has a few Elizabethan gowns. She had found an article about knit silk hose and remarked that under all her hoop skirts and petticoats, her legs got quite cold when she wore her costume. I ordered some tussah silk roving from EBay for $28.00/pound and started spinning sock weight singles on my drop spindle so as to be authentic. I measured every aspect of Mom's leg/foot, knit a swatch, did some math, and worked out a pattern for these and began knitting. I even tried to include some "clocks" on the ankles like the article discussed. This was quite an ambitious knitting project for me at the time, and I've saved my sketches and notes I kept as I was working on them, but I don't know that I could make another pair from that alone! I'm still very proud of them every time I see them though!

Hat for Avery

We are having a birthday weekend for my little niece and I wanted to knit her this hat. It was knit from Lamb's Pride worsted yarn on size US 6 dpn's....and it was a bit small! I have plenty of yarn so I'll just try again and give this to Deedee's nephew. This is such a cute pattern! The bunnies have little bobble tails and the "tassels" are in fact carrots! Back to my chair...

finito

These are my cousin's finished Perdita cuffs made with beads cut from Grandma's wedding crown. I found some variegated DMC size 8 pearl cotton thread that was pretty close to her wedding colors. I doubt these will ever be worn by any of the recipients, but it is a nice way for each of us to keep a bit of Grandma with us.


This is actually something that my mother knitted. She gave me a lovely tea cosy pattern book for Christmas and knit me an aran tea cosy in some lovely oatmeal worsted yarn. Not having my tea pot there, she couldn't seam the sides around the spout and handle. I finally assembled it last week and had to pose it with my latest tea score from Rochester. That box of PG Tips is the size of a cereal box and cost $18.99! I was so excited to get it though because that is the biggest box of the stuff I've ever seen! I'm excited to try this loose Tetley tea as well. I drink Tetley's every night at work with their string less bags. The weather is cooling down so it is very nice to have a cuppa nearby.