Archive for the ‘Things I’ve Made’ Category

Pi Day 2014!!

Happy Pi Day!! As you might recall, Pi Day is the most important holiday in the Ladd family, and it’s always hard for me to be away from home. But my Mom usually mails me a gift of a new calculator or some fancy graph paper or what have you, and, of course, I always make some kind of pie to keep the tradition alive. And to avoid a year of careless math errors, because that is one superstition I am afraid NOT to follow. I do way too much math (sewing, cooking, stats at work) to risk becoming bad at it for a whole year!

This year’s celebration will be a little more subdued (although of course Steven and I will break out the word problems later tonight) because I can’t really eat pie right now. I decided to make one for Steven to take to work, and since normal pie can be messy to pass out, I lifted my ban and agreed to make mini pies in my muffin pan. Don’t worry!! I had a few bites of one before he left to avoid math ruin.

Hand delivered in bed, because Pi Day is classy like that

Hand delivered in bed, because Pi Day is classy like that

These mini pies went a lot better than last time. My previous experience informed the crust cutting-out step, and there wasn’t an awkward lattice top crust to worry about. Plus, the filling was actually delicious because I used a legit recipe. Still more work than a normal pie, but I might be convinced to do it again sometime.

The perfect portion!

The perfect portion!

The filling is pear ginger, and you brown the butter with ginger and vanilla bean for a smooth, well-balanced flavor. Pear on its own would be too bland, but adding just enough ginger makes it pop. I was really pleased with how these turned out!

Happy Pi Day!!

Some crochet projects

I’m slowly working my way through my book of crocheted animals with inept faces. Soon I will have a whole creepy menagerie! This week I made a hippo, because I’m lazy and it only had 8 parts (body+4 legs+2 ears+tail).

He looks slightly less terrifying than the giraffe--maybe I'm improving

He looks slightly less terrifying than the giraffe–maybe I’m improving

Steven was disappointed that his expression wasn’t made of nightmares.

I also finally used up all of that Wiess-colored yarn I bought last year for that ill-advised cardigan!!! I’ve made a few scarves and unfortunate-looking hats with it, but to tackle the rest I had to take on a fairly big project:

It's an afghan! Kind of

It’s an afghan! Kind of

It was stupidly easy to make, just being one giant granny square, but I’m glad it’s done and I can move on to less school-spirity projects. You know how I feel about pep, ugh.

Next I’m going to try to make the elephant!

I Made A Quilt, Fools

I know you haven’t been able to contain yourself, wondering what my Super Secret 7th Goal was for this year, and I can finally tell you! I came up with the idea exactly one year ago today, 12/27/12, my parents’ 29th wedding anniversary. I thought, “That means next year will be 30! That’s a big deal! I need to do something.” And somehow I decided that something was to make a giant ass quilt.

It might not look super giant, but in work hours it's the size of a house

It might not look super giant, but in work hours it’s the size of a house

My mom is always making quilts for people, so I figured it was time someone made one for her. I started January 2nd, because I knew it would take me forever. It pretty much did, since I basically had to teach myself how to do it along the way. The library helped, and some Internet tutorials too. Here I am maybe four or five months in, after finally completing the top:

And Steven helped... me move the furniture

And Steven helped… me move the furniture

At this point Rob was like “You’re done! Yay!” Not even close, my friend. A quilt is made of a sandwich: the fancy quilt top I spent some months sewing together, the batting that makes it warm and bulky, and the backing fabric. There are many methods to get those three to stick together, but I chose hand quilting because I’m hardcore. That took a further six months.

The reason the quilt top took so long to complete was the embroidery I did to make it personal (hardcore). Close ups: Read the rest of this entry »

Make A Face

So remember when I crocheted that lion? The same book has a pattern for a pretty adorable giraffe. Of course, giraffes are my favorite animal, so I had to try it. All went well, until the end, when it just told me to “make a face.” I looked at the picture of the finished product for guidance, but they used for real plastic stuffed animal eyes. I thought I could probably just make do with yarn, and eventually ended up with:

At first you think he's creepy, but after awhile his ugliness is kind of endearing

At first you think he’s creepy, but after awhile his ugliness is kind of endearing

I don’t know how I feel. Maybe I’ll make a whole series of stuffed animals from this book, and they’ll all be normal until the face, which will be weird and kind of terrifying. Steven doesn’t like how it watches him. I plan on setting it on his sleeping chest for him to wake up to any morning now.

Watercolor Practice!

It’s been awhile since I took that watercolor class, and I’ve for the most part been ignoring the leftover supplies that stare guiltily at me every time I open my closet. I guess it’s my lack of drawing skills that have been holding me back, and my lack of watercolor paper. But I finally found some for like $3 at Target. It’s not as nice as the kind we used in class, but definitely better for a newb like me anyway. Inspiration came while watching TV, when I realized Adventure Time characters are actually made of really simple shapes. Especially:

Lumpy Space Princess, or part of her

Lumpy Space Princess, or part of her

You’d be surprised how difficult it is to draw half a star.

Then I was on a roll:

Ice King probably turned out second best

Ice King probably turned out second best

I have two different color blue paints, so there wasn’t as much mixing involved. That’s the part that’s still tricky to me, getting the exact color you want, and being able to tell what it will look like in the painting. I think I use too much water.

Princess Bubblegum's three different shades of pink didn't turn out exactly right, but whatevs

Princess Bubblegum’s three different shades of pink didn’t turn out exactly right, but whatevs

The other annoying thing about watercolor is that most pictures take awhile, since you have to wait for the water to dry between coats or when doing adjacent sections. If you’re not careful they’ll bleed all into each other. That’s what happened to Marceline’s hair here:

I tried to fix it when I outlined later in marker, but it's still my least favorite one

I tried to fix it when I outlined later in marker, but it’s still my least favorite one

I plan on doing more later!! They can be an Adventure Time family on my wall!

Oranges All Over Everything

As often happens when my parents visit me, I’m left with a giant sack of oranges and grapefruit. They are delicious, but numerous, so Steven and I have to conscientiously try to eat them all before they go bad. To that end, we once again had a ORANGE CHALLENGE SURPRISE dinner on Sunday. It’s kind of like Iron Chef, and the secret ingredient was orange. I’m not sure which of us won this one. Here’s what I made:

I'm not giving you the recipe, because it sucked

I’m not giving you the recipe, because it sucked

On the plus side, it used up three oranges and one grapefruit, so it beat Steven’s on that score. If only it had used them well. It was supposed to be a kind of orzo pasta salad with citrus, red onion, mint, and basil. Yeah… Mint and basil are a super weird combo, and I’m not sure which was the main flavor problem or if it was somehow both of them. Also, red onion always tastes unpleasantly like acid to me, no matter how finely chopped, so each bite basically just tasted like eating raw onion. Bleh.

Luckily, Steven’s was more successful:

He made homemade truffles, like a fancy person

He made homemade truffles, like a fancy person

Usually when Steven tackles these fancy, difficult projects, they end up kind of weird if they end up as anything at all. So you can imagine my shock when it was my easy, sensible recipe that failed hardcore, and his that was a delicious success. He made two kinds: the ones pictured, an orange liqueur truffle, and some orange ginger ones. The process was long, and fraught with peril and messiness, but they are incredibly delicious. Almost too delicious, like I can barely eat a whole one, they’re so rich. This project only took one orange, but it used it wisely.

Back to eating them for breakfast and snacks for me!

NaNoWriMo 2013!

So it’s not the end of November, but I’m calling my annual NaNoWriMo contest with James early on account of… well, it’s just embarrassing. I got to 50,000 words on the 15th, and finished up my story four days later. I haven’t heard anything from James in a week, but assuming he’s not going to write 41,000 words in the next 8 days I’m going to say results are pretty much the same as last year:

nanowrimo2013

Well, maybe I went a little nuts on the 14th, but it was only because this year National Novel Writing Month felt like a chore I just needed to be done with. It wasn’t fun, and it was keeping me from stuff I actually should be writing, and like to be writing. This is my 6th year doing it, so I wasn’t worried about finishing–of course I’ll finish. Maybe it was because I once again went with a Pick Your Own Adventure style, which is fun in that people get in to reading it when you’re finished, but a little more of a headache from the creation side. So this might be my last year of NaNoWriMo, at least for the foreseeable future. I think it’s a great experience, especially for people who need that push to actually get writing, but it’s something I already spend all my time on–for work, for fun, while doing the dishes, while driving–maybe I need an intervention where I spend a month trying to stop.

Whatever, I didn’t mean to get all depressing on you. Here’s a wordle for your trouble:

As you might guess, this year there are ghosts

As you might guess, this year there are ghosts

Once again, Steven kindly used his skillz to make it accessible online, looking all sleek and fancy, so if you want to try not to die, feel free. There are 3 main parts, and also an alternate vampire punk storyline, because Rob and James Fox each responded to the very beginning by screaming “KILL HIM!!” at me in all caps, instead of the more conventional choices I provided. And I’m pretty easily coerced into things. Some things. Here are the best parts [spoiler alert?]: Read the rest of this entry »

Lembas

My penpal sent me a recipe for lembas that she found on tumblr! I was pretty excited to see if one small could “fill the stomach of a grown man.”

Unfortunately I didn't have any giant leaves to wrap it in

Unfortunately I didn’t have any giant leaves to wrap it in

The process was pretty straightforward, except I needed more cream than the recipe called for. I also added more cinnamon, and it still is only lightly spiced, so if I do it again I may add even more. Like most shortbready type recipes, the only annoying part is mixing in the cold butter with a pastry cutter, but I’m a pro at that. Then you roll it out and cut it into squares:

Only a few ended up actually being perfect squares, but the ugly ones will taste better because they've got more to prove

Only a few ended up actually being perfect squares, but the ugly ones will taste better because they’ve got more to prove

And after 12 minutes of baking time:

Silicone baking mats ftw

Silicone baking mats ftw

These are pretty good, although definitely not as nutritious as their LOTR counterpart. They’re halfway between a scone and a cookie, with a crunchy outside and soft inside.

Next time, with more cinnamon!

Next time, with more cinnamon!

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients
2.5 cups flour
1 tbl baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (I added at least 2)
1/2 tsp hoeny
2/3 cup heavy cream (probably closer to 1 cup)
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 425F. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter and mix well with pastry cutter. Then add the sugar and cinnamon. Add cream, honey, and vanilla, and stir until dough forms, adding more cream or flour for consistency.

Roll the dough out about 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out 3-inch squares and transfer to cookie sheet. Criss-cross each square from corner to corner with a knife lightly, not cutting through the dough.

Bake for about 12 minutes, until dough is set and light golden.

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