English Muffins and a Baby Sweater

Last night my cooking buddy asked if I ate tuna, and if so, could I save him the tins. This sounded quite familiar to me. Why? He says he's going to make Alton Brown's english muffins for an upcoming brunch we have slated. Well, I go to dig out my tins from the trash and notice that there is no way in heck he's going to get those new-fangled rounded bottoms off. So I look to see if I have any water chestnuts and pineapple and I do. Then I start thinking, gee, this all sounds familiar. I dig through cupboards and sure enough I find five of these already bottomless. Then I read the recipe and think, hmm, I have it all. So thinking a bit first, I read all the reviews (lots of people knew about the pineapple and water chestnut cans working - one poor soul sat with a hammer, chisel, screwdriver tryin to get the rounded bottoms out of the tuna cans .....) and, not meaning to steal any thunder, I thought I'd try them as I had everything ready and I haven't done them since I became a King Arthur flour fan. Then I set out to, a, make them not too fat, use some cornmeal in the bottom, etc. And yes, indeed, they take a lot longer than his 5-6 mins per side and the cast iron pans I'm using have to have the fire just barely on below them. The first ones turned out just a bit fatter than I'd like. The later ones look pretty darn good. It did make ten muffins. Bob wolfed three of them pretty quickly. Myself, though, I'd prefer more "nooks and crannies." But these will definitely do. I'd say the recipe is a keeper.

And this is my lastest finished object. A lacy baby sweater I made from a pattern in Knitting Pattern Central (Lacey Baby set). I changed up the lace pattern just to make it go quicker. And I picked up all around the front with a smaller needle and did a garter edge with buttonholes. And the hat is stinking adorable. I made the poppy from another baby set in Knitting Pattern Central baby patters (Poppy something or other) and used the bottom border pattern to make a simple beanie.

I could do without summer

Well, if it would only cooperate and only get tops to 85, I wouldn't mind so much. Since it's too hot to talk, I'll put up a pictorial of my summer so far.

I've sewn a bit, gardened a bit, put up some shelves, made a dress for Loosie. I'm not always that messy when I serge as it is in the Orange shirt - made this from Ottobre magazine - fits great. Made the pattern twice so far. The green top is a great pattern, but cheap fabric and it shows. I hope Loosie's frock isn't too loose. And the blue top is losing that tie belt. Fine when you stand, but once you sit and gravity does it's thing with the body, the belt shifts up to the chest and there's trouble.

No time to play

But a few pics of some recent stuff. Here's Abi wearing this, as she calls it, "Hoochie" apron. She looks adorable. The grocery bags and I made a trek on foot to do the marketing, so I got not only a walk in, but some weight-bearing too - thought my arms were going to fall off. I sort of overdid the buying. That's my second peasant top, and I sort of used the same design in front. I did my first attempt at "shirring" on it. Finally got that elastic bobbin thing to work - but I sure didn't wind it by hand as they all tell you to. I just machine wound it, and it worked beautifully.

AND as far as these little soakers go, I think they're the cutest, most practical thing. They almost make me wish I had a baby to stick in them. If you don't know, these are to put over cloth diapers instead of rubber pants. This sounds weird, but you just keep using them for up to a couple weeks - rotating with another pair or two and only airing out between unless soiled. No, they don't smell. Hmmm or so they say.