Awesome Muffins

I thought I'd share these...These are very possibly the best muffins EVER! They're actually supposed to be Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins, but I'm not really much of a pumpkin fan, so I switched them out for sweet potato, but I'm telling you! Wonderful! It's an Emeril recipe from foodnetwork, though I switched out the pumpkin, put the cranberries in the food processor (for the kids' sake, though I actually like it better that way, myself--distributes the craisins all over, so you get a little in every bite), and I also made them mini size, again, for the kids. But who doesn't like a mini muffin? :)

Homemade Pretzels and Recycling

The first photo is of the delicious pretzels we made the other night, hubby and me. He is absolutely addicted to these big soft pretzels but gets mad at the mall when they want $3 or more for one. And so I became determined to make my own at home and dang it, but these were so good, I just had to post a picture. :) Thank you, Mr. Alton Brown!

The next pictures are of my Little Bit and her version of recycling. See, I make felt cookies for my etsy shop, and I had one from long ago that was a trial as I was determining how best to sew up the edges. Anyway, Little Bit wanted it to play with, so I gave it to her. Skip ahead several weeks... So, I have this Kimochi bear thing that my dear friend gave me for Christmas a while back. It's the cutest big green bear that "eats" emotions. The little emotions are little round "people" that fit into his mouth and stomach. My daughter FELL IN LOVE with him and plays with him all the time in my sewing room as I sew (because that room is his home, and he doesn't want to leave it, as she informed me.) Well, as I was cutting off my way too long pants to hem them today, and she asks me for the cut off part. I ask her why, and she tells me that she wants to use it to make arms and legs for her little "K'mochin." (What she calls the people.) At this point, I'm looking at her like she's lost her mind, having no idea what she's talking about. So, she tells me that that's "recycling" when you use something old to make something. To which, of course, I'm thrilled to hear her say. Well, I gave her my fabric marking pen, and she gave it a face, then she told me how to cut out the fabric to make "bumps" for the arms and legs. She wanted to glue them, but I convinced her sewing would be a bit more sturdy, and so, her new "Happy K'mochin" was born. And naturally, happy is a fitting name for him...and her.

Space Boys and a Potholder

I am SLOWLY getting to take pics of and post the Christmas presents I made for the kids. Here is one of the boys' gifts, two Space Boys from Hillary Lang's wonderful pattern. The boys like them, as does my daughter. She made them hold hands for the picture. Too cute. Anyway, I was pleased with how they turned out. I plan on making the robot, too, but I just haven't had time to get him finished.





And this is a little potholder I made from my scraps. I got to playing around with my leftovers from a quilt I'm making, and I've really been wanting to try out my new walking foot, as well as this thermo. batting stuff I bought. So, I thought, "Hey! Why not make a potholder?" Besides, mine have the uncanny and inconvenient habit of getting up and walking off somewhere, so a new one is always welcome in the drawer. :) Anyway, it's a little wonky...I got in a hurry (you tend to do that close to 2am...) and my binding is a little wrong. shrug. It's just a potholder, and I was just playing around, so I didn't feel it worth it to take it out and redo it. Besides, a couple times of spilled spagetti sauce on it, and it won't look so great anyway. :)