Marie Grace Designs

About the bread...

2009-11-18T08:49:00-05:00

This could go all totally wrong. Last time this happened I spent days dusted in flour and ended up in tears and Mac Daddy brought me home a bread machine.

Yup. I'm gonna try to make homemade bread.

I don't know what it is about bread. I can bake cakes and cookies and tarts and pies. I can make custard and pumpkin roll and poached pears and cheesecake. But not bread.

I don't know if its the yeast or the humidity or the cat hair but every attempt I've made has resulted in either a brick or a flat doughy thing that casually resembles the belly roll of an old man in tight pants.

If only I could give up on the dream of making fresh bread for Mac Daddy. He loves bread. He stops on his way home some days just to buy a fresh loaf of crusty grainy bread to have with dinner. It pains me to see him walk in the door with that paper bag. I wish he could just come home and open the door and have the smell of fresh bread waft around his head.

Okay... well thats half the story. The other half is that I'm really angry that I can't make bread. Dammit.

So I've heard lots of good stuff about this book and this method and its supposed to be easy and even quick so we'll see. I'm not holding out much hope but I'm giving it a shot because I want nothing more than to put fresh bread on my holiday table this year. If I fail I swear I will smuggle in bread from the bakery and lie. Lie!

In the meantime I made cookies. I can make cookies. I made Bezzie's cookies. I even saved enough so that when the kids left this morning (with cookies lovingly packed in their lunches) I had cookies left to have with my coffee for breakfast. Cause ya know they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

Designer's Studio...

2009-11-17T08:25:26-05:00

Have you seen the new Designer's Studio website?

Its a great new project created by Faina Goberstein as a place to showcase knit designers.

Here's what Faina says about the project...

Modeled after the famous TV program called Inside The Actors Studio The Designer's Studio is the place where you will meet a well-known designer and read about her/his designing style, philosophy, most favorite techniques, publications, and many other interesting details of the creative world of knitwear designers. Our guest will be answering a set of 15 questions (the same for every guest) and you will have the opportunity to leave the comment or your question after the interview is posted. We will try to keep up with your questions. This is a very exciting project and I hope you will visit here often and will not miss any of the interviews posted here.

If you have a look at the sidebar there you'll see names like Stephanie Japel, Donna Druchunas, Eunny Jang, Marnie MacLean, and Annie Modesitt among others. There's an interview with Shannon Okey up now and I've been invited to do an interview as well.

This is a great way to get to know a bit about your favorite designers and you can leave comments and even questions after their interviews.

Stop by often so you don't miss anybody!

Let the madness begin...

2009-11-12T12:18:19-05:00

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that the stores are already filled with everything Christmas. The turkey hasn't even thawed yet but there are twinkly lights in the neighbor's yard and hand-written lists on my fridge.

Though I, and it seems many others, are irritated by the earlier and earlier appearance of tinsel and door wreathes I must admit that it is an exciting time of year all around.

With the holidays right around the corner knitters everywhere are struggling to decide who, if anyone, deserves to receive a hand-knit gift. The cold weather setting in has mothers frantically knitting warm hats and mittens for chilly cheeked little ones. And I'm sure I'm not the only designer hoping to eek out a last minute design or 2 in the "quick to knit" category before December all the while still planning ahead for TNNA.

Oh, we may scoff because its just too early and too soon and too much but like it or not that season has arrived. The season of houses warmed by ovens baking cookies and company holiday parties and cheezy Hallmark cards and TV marathons of favorite movies (You'll shoot your eye out, kid!).

May as well embrace the craziness of it all. And knit.

The best knitting...

2009-11-05T08:15:22-05:00

Ya know there's lots of kinds of knitting like "Dang its cold out and I need a hat" knitting and gift knitting and something to do knitting and for some of us there's even work knitting. But you wonder if they'll like it and should you even bother and will it fit or heaven forbid they decide they're allergic to wool.

When did it all get so complicated?

Well yesterday a friend and I threw off our responsibilities (I've got deadlines and she's a mom who has returned to college) and went out for Greasy Burgers of Death for lunch (with fries) and then spent the afternoon camped out in my living room with yarn and daytime TV. It was blissful. The best knitting ever.

It was the most relaxing afternoon I've had in eons. We both have kids and we both have dogs so she wasn't concerned about the toys on the sofa or the hair balls on the floor and she drinks coffee too. We chatted some and were quiet some and we did a lot of knitting. Such a pleasant reminder of how completely liberating greasy burgers and an afternoon of knitting can be.

When in Rome...

2009-11-01T14:06:40-05:00

Well maybe not Rome but the living room will do.

It seems that we've had a successfully relaxing weekend complete with movies (Hitchcock, Jules Verne, and Bram Stoker) and homemade soup (potato and mushroom chowder... yum).

Tater didn't even get out of her PJs all day on Saturday and to top it off she ever so unceremoniously parked herself in this laundry basket at my feet and there she stayed for quite some time watching movies with me. I'm not really sure why she felt compelled to camp out in a basket but who am I to question a 5 year old? Especially one who has a tissue paper ghost on a stick.

And while Tater camped in a basket at my feet Tucker snoozed on the floor at her feet and several cats were dreaming away amongst the quilts piled at the end of the other sofa right by the window. People... you often couldn't get this sort of day even if you paid big money so I consider it a very good day indeed.

And even better yet... while all these smallish creatures kept me company I did some knitting. Hours worth of knitting actually that is well on its way to being a new design. At least that's the plan.

So how about your weekend? Was it full of relaxing and knitting or candy and monsters?