I made the news!!

Oh my goodness! I just found my interview with Fran Henry from the "Cleveland Plain Dealer" on Cleveland.com's website. It's going to be in the Style issue of tomorrow's newspaper! She interviewed me, along with three other Cleveland-area Etsy artists for a fabulous article on Etsy.
Here's the link to the Etsy article. And here's my interview. I'm so thrilled. It couldn't come at a better time with my husband's accident and his job on-the-line. Congrats to HiAnnie, stonz, and Monaco too!

Baking Day

I decided to bake bread today. Since I don't have a car and I have all the ingredients for a pasta dinner....except for some crispy bread.

I found a wonderful-sounding recipe in "The Italian Country Table" for a Sage and Mushroom Focaccia. The sage is still bountiful in my garden, but the dough takes a day or two to rise. I may start that for tomorrow, we'll see.

Today I found this Simple Crusty Bread recipe that was published in "The New York Times." I'll have to rescue my baking stone from the gas grill. We had a wind storm after hurricane Ike that cause a power-outage just when I was about to bake off a bunch of pizzas for guests. My husband did a wonderful job of rescuing the situation and helped me bake them in the gas grill. They were delicious, but the baking stone is a bit charred.

I also came upon this recipe for Pane Rustica (Italian Peasant Bread) which is a modified version of the recipe above. It looks easy and delicious.

In any event, I'll try the crusty bread and see how it goes. After that, I'll be finishing up some scarves, hats and fingerless gloves keeping busy busy busy!

Fun with Felting

As if I don't have enough to keep me busy this time of year, I decided to gather some supplies and try my hand at felting. So many people have asked why I don't spin my own yarn. I'm sure it is fun, but I wouldn't have time to knit and crochet the designs that I love to make. So, for me to buy carded wool and roving, was a bit shocking. There it was all gathered together and me without a clue as to what exactly to do. I've read several blogs and watched a few videos on feltmaking, specifically on how to make a scarf.
Tip #1 don't try it outside on a breezy day. I started laying out my fibers on the batting and the wind blew them all over the place. So, I went to the basement. This is a messy wet project and it didn't matter if I got the basement wet.
Tip #2 use a sturdy work surface. I used a fold-up craft table and it was rocking all over the place!
It ended up being a little too thick and wide for a scarf, but a wonderful fabric nonetheless. The picture doesn't pick up the gold sparkle throughout. I am thinking that, with a sturdy lining and shoulder strap, it could be made into a fabulous bag.
Tip #3 keep trying. It was fun and I'll definitely try again. I also have a silk scarf that I want to try felting the fibers onto. I want to dye it first. I also have some yarn to dye...but I've never dyed before. Yet another thing to try.
So, that's what I've been working on, along with more shrugs, sweaters, hats, and fingerless gloves for upcoming shows. Busy time of year!

Take a Little Time to Unwind

Today is a much-needed rest day for me. I frantically tagged and tallied all my items to set up at the Tour of Homes Christmas Walk. I still have a few works-in-progress that I didn't complete on time, but since it's a 2 1/2 week show, I can take them in later on this weekend. Today...I get to do whatever I want!
I think I'll bake some cookies. I created a fabulous cookie treasury on Etsy the other day. It's about to expire, but here are a few of my favorite treats. These rub-ons from Yaelfran are so cool. I will be adorning my coffee mug with some of these soon I hope.

There are lots of sweet treats available on Etsy. Check out the selection by cakeboxcookies. You can't rush fall with these beauties!

As for me, I think I'll make some soft pumpkin cookies. Pleasing my picky son with anything besides chocolate chip has always been a challenge. He loves pumpkin pie and I'm sure he'll eat pumpkin cookies, as long as there's no nuts in them.

Get in the holiday baking spirit by checking out 12 Days of Christmas Cookies at Nestle's VeryBestBaking.com. Sign up now to receive Food Network's 12 Days of Cookies Newsletter at FoodNetwork.com. Happy baking!