Seriously.

We had an ice storm last night and have been without power since 2:00 a.m.  Looks like it'll be 7 to 10 days before it's restored.  Yeah.

So, the Harris family is camped out at Burrow House.  Thank goodness for friends with electricity and wireless internet.  Woo hoo!

I made a little video to record the beauty this afternoon.  Not my beauty...lord knows, if I could have seen myself in the dark bathroom, I may have actually put some make up on or brushed my hair.  Oh well.

See you when order is restored.

I've been working on the auction quilts - I have one ready for binding and if all goes well, the other will be at that stage tonight.  Truth be told, I am ready to be finished with these.  More than ready, actually.  There are so many other things I want to make.  Soon.  That's what I keep telling myself.

The girls are home from school today - we got about an inch of snow.  It's kind of sleeting outside now, so it's not even fun to go out and play in it.  I have an arsenal of craft ideas for them.  Hopefully something will sound interesting.  If not, I guess we will bake.  I have some ripe bananas waiting to be made into bread.  And of course, we can always make cookies.

And because I hate posting without a photo, I'm going to share one of my 365 outtakes with you.

Yes, those are bolts of fabric shoved behind a door.  Maybe I can deal with that today, too.  Then again, maybe not.

...auction quilts...

...another chunky knit beanie and my February lady sweater...

and I am supervising lots of weaving and hopefully, some painting.

I am looking forward to a laid back weekend with lots of crafting.  What are you working on?

From this....

to this...

in less than ONE HOUR!!!!  Seriously.

Thank you, Leslie, for such a great, fast, satisfying and cute pattern!  It's perfect.

Pattern:  Chunky Knit Beanie by Leslie Friend, a Friend to knit with
Yarn:  Rowan Big Wool, Shade 52
Needles:  Size 15 straights
Size:  Large
Mods:  None

Go on, grab some chunky yarn and get knitting.  Your head will thank you.

Friday afternoon I mixed up a batch of No Knead Bread.  I really, really like this recipe.  The only thing confusing is the timing.  You have to work backwards and figure out when to start based on that.  Because I wanted to bake early Saturday afternoon, I mixed it up about 4:00 on Friday afternoon.  This gave me an 18 hour rise, plus two hours for the second rise and a little bit extra time for good measure and cold temperatures.

I also baked baguette number two from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  That's it resting on the pizza peel in the top part of the photo.  The no knead bread is under the plastic wrap on the bottom.  Anyhow, I made the baguette a bit skinnier this time and cut the slashes deeper.  It was prettier and tastier and dummy me never took a photo.  You'll have to trust me.

Anyway, back to the no knead variety.  I mixed up this batch with 1 cup whole wheat flour and 2 cups all purpose.  It was the best yet.  Before I have done it with half wheat and half white and it was good.  This one was better, though.  I also cooked the other no knead loaves in a cast iron dutch oven.  This time I used one with an enamel coating.  I think that may have added to the success too.  Not sure.  Anyhow, it was really tasty and so satisfying to make.

I will make both kinds again.  I loved having the Artisan bread dough in my fridge, ready to go at my whim.  The small loaves are perfect for a family meal or for appetizers.  The timing on the no knead variety is a little tricky, but it makes a much bigger loaf which is perfect for a crowd.  I took both loaves to Caroline's on Saturday night.  I was not abovebragging that I had made the bread!  Fatty and I did a little tastetest...he preferred the baguette and I liked the no knead better.  Ithink the nuttiness of the whole wheat flour did it for me.  So, naturally, I am thinking something wheat or multi-grain from the Artisan Bread book should be next.  I'll keep you posted.

Enjoy your Monday - see you soon.

For Christmas, my parents gave me Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  So far, I love this book.  I started with the boule, or the master recipe.  You mix the dough, let it rise for a couple of hours and then stick it in the refrigerator to keep for up to two weeks.  You cut off a hunk, form the loaf, let it rest and then bake.  The recipe supposedly makes four loaves of bread.  And it does, if you like really small loaves.

Above is loaf number one.  I followed the directions to the letter for this one and had some issues.  After much consulting with Sarah and Emily, I think my house is not warm enough to let the dough rise properly after I take it out of the refrigerator.

With loaf number two, I let the dough rest for 2 hours (instead of the 40 minutes) before I put it in the oven.  That did the trick - this one was far better.

For loaf number three, I decided to try the baguette.   It is made using the same basic dough recipe.  Again, I let it rest longer before I put it in the oven - about 1 1/2 hours instead of 20 minutes.  Apparently, I did not slash the top deep enough so it really isn't as pretty as I had hoped.  It didn't matter - it was really good.  So far, this one is my favorite.

I'm anxious to try another recipe from this book - perhaps a sandwich loaf.  It's really nice to have the dough sitting in the fridge, ready to go at my whim.  I'm also thinking up ways to get my girls in on the action.  It really is easy enough for kids to do with some supervision.

Before I mix up another batch from this book, I am going back to the dutch oven, no-knead variety like Leslie just made.  It's been awhile since I made that and I want to do a little comparing.  I'll let you know how it all turns out.

Quilt top number one for the first grade auction projects is done.  It took me waaaaaay longer than I anticipated.  I'm not sure how I am going to quilt it - I don't want stitching over the art work.  I'll figure it out, I suppose.  Suggestions are welcome.

And now it's time to move on to the second one.  Right after I eat lunch, of course.

So, here it is, Monday again.  I had great intentions to be in this space more last week, but it just didn't happen.  I am not sure I can pinpoint why.  Life is just busier at some moments than others.

This sweet stack was bought while in Florida over the holidays.  I don't have any specific plans for it - well, except the bottom one, that is for a skirt.  The rest will end up in small projects, maybe some quilts, who knows.  Before I start cutting, I have two quilts to finish for the school auction next month.  I have one pieced and the other is still waiting to be sewn up.

This sweet fox is Kate's contribution to her class quilt.  She's a big Ed Emberley fan.  Can't you tell?

While I am busy putting the quilts together, I thought I would share some things that are inspiring me these days.....

Blair's single girl quilt - Every bit of it is just so good.
Habit - I find this just so right in so many ways.
Rachel's painting - it makes me want to try something new.
Dawn's dolls - I think I might need a redhead.

I've been listening to She & Him and just read Loving Frank.  Both were Christmas presents from Fatty.  He chose well.

Back to the sewing machine.  See you all later.