Baby Blanket!

A few weeks ago I had a request for a baby blanket to be made for a baby boy on his way sometime in October. After looking through some patterns in my new crochet pattern book, I thought this square-looking one would work for a boy along with a little touch of blue for the border. I used one (ok, actually several) of those "angel hair" yarns...SO soft and fuzzy! (As I'm sure you can see in the photos)




















So now it's finally finished! And here it is, nicely packaged, off to it's new home! :)

Mmm...Tomato Basil Bread!

I've always loved Panera's Tomato Basil Bread so I looked for a recipe to make it at home. This one turns out great! (The first time I made it I think I put too much tomato paste in it and didn't wait long enough to let it rise because I'm SO impatient, but THIS time, I followed the directions correctly and it turned out GREAT!)

My recipe notes:
* I actually only made half the amount of the recipe, which is good for a nice smaller-sized loaf. I may add more sun-dried tomatoes next time because I think they are wonderfully tasty!

* I also used a loaf pan instead of using a baking sheet like the recipe calls for. I lined the pan with foil so that it was easier to get out once it was finished baking.

* Instead of a food processor I used my kitchen-aid mixer, and then continued to use the mixer for 10 minutes instead of kneading it by hand. Works great.

Tomato Basil Bread

Makes one LARGE loaf (half amount of recipe work for a small loaf pan)

6 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 T fresh yeast or fast-action dried yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 1.4 c. warm water, divided

1.2 c. tomato paste

7 ox. Sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained and finely chopped

1 T finely chopped basil

1.4 c. olive oil

1) In food processor, combine flour and salt. Mix well. Cream yeast with sugar and 1 to 2 T warm water. Mix remaining water with tomato paste; add to flour along with yeast mixture, tomatoes, basil and oil. Process until dough comes together and feels soft but not sticky. Add more water if necessary.

2) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a clean dish towel and let rise at room temperature for 1 ½ to 2 hours, until doubled in size.

3) Punch down dough; shape into a long loaf. Place dough on a baking sheet, cover with a clean, damp dish towel; allow to rise another 1 ½ to 2 hours until doubled in size again.

4) Preheat over to 400 F

5) Dust loaf with flour; sprinkle with a little water. Bake 15 minutes; reduce temperature to 350 F. Bake another 25 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove from baking sheet; cool on a wire rack.

If anyone tries this recipe, let me know what you think of it!

My Latest WIP's

A few of my works in progress...small crocheted handbags (the middle one is actually more of an olive green but it turned out tan-looking in the lighting).


And then we have the baby blanket I'm working on...this one is wonderfully soft, fuzzy and cuddly! Eventually I will probably be adding a light blue border to it. (As you can see, these pictures are from the very beginning of the project...looks like it's supposed to be a scarf! Though it would make a wonderfully warm scarf...)

Happily crocheting again...

Again I've been M.I.A. for a bit, sorry about that. Now that we're done moving and a bit more settled into our new place I'm slowly but surely getting back into the swing of crafting.

Seems like I've come back to my love for crocheting again. I tend to go back and forth between projects. For some reason I often feel the need for a new project, even a new craft all together. My desire for variety typically tempts me to begin something new before even finishing what I've already started! But I'm trying, I'm TRYING to be more disciplined!

So, here's my latest crocheted creation...while looking through some fabric to use for the inside of my little black crocheted change purse, I was inspired by some paisley print. Once I cut out a yellow paisley felt piece and placed it on the purse I thought, "with some eyes and a little smile, this could be a little paisley baby whale!" So, change of plans, now we have a baby whale change purse :)




In other news, I went to Joanne's today to pick up some yarn for a baby blanket that I'm working on for a friend. I found this book called Super Stitches Crochet: Essential techniques plus a dictionary of more than 180 stitch patterns by Jennifer Campbell and Ann-Marie Bakewell ( <---I wonder if she does? ) and I think it's a beautiful book! And helpful of course, but really, I love the patterns they've included in here. It's nice because not only do they include the written pattern for the stitches, they also include a diagram, in case you like those better! It's great to have both patterns AND a nice little picture next to them!
It literally looks like their yarn swatch is laying right on your book, doesn't it? But really, it's just a photograph! Ok, so the ONLY thing I don't like about this book so far would be some of the stitch titles. Most of the basics are labeled (ex: double crochet, back post single crochet, knot stitch, etc) but then when you get to the other ones, sections labeled Solid, Open, Trellis Patterns etc, the patterns are simply numbered like "Solid 2" or "Open 5". That was a bit disappointing for me because I like creative names. BUT anyways, really the rest of the book is great!