spiced sugar cookies

Chewy, faintly spiced and not too sweet:

1 1/2 c sugar
2 1/2 c flour
1 c butter (room temp)
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar, then add vanilla and egg yolks 1 at a time. In a separate bowl, mix all other ingredients. Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet mixture. Form dough into small round balls and bake on parchment lined cookie sheet at 350 degrees F. until cookies are browned around the edges, 10-15 mins. or so.

flamingo mitts

Made these cute hand mitts for a friend of mine who used to have hair this color and who also happens to have a penchant for flamingos. She is very dear and going through a tough time, so I wanted to make her something snuggly and soft. This yarn, Blue Sky Brushed Suri, is wonderfully fluffy and I really enjoyed working with it. The pattern (quick and easy - loved it) came from Nina, a lovely little knitting shop here in Chicago.

stripey sweater

I have been liking a lot of the patterns in Vogue Knitting recently, especially this cool oversized stripey sweater. The pattern calls for Bergere de France yarn, which seems to be very difficult to find in the states. So why do they keep doing this in an American magazine? The last sweater I made from Vogue also called for the same yarn. Frustrating. So, rather than try to track down this elusive stuff, I opted to order some lovely Berroco Vintage Chunky from Webs. I think I did a pretty good job of matching the colors, at least I am very happy with how they appear in real life. I just received it in the mail, and it is very soft as well as machine washable. I am excited to knit with it for the first time, we'll see how it goes!

vintage fabric finds

Haven't been posting since I was in Maine for a few days. While there I found some nice vintage fabrics and a bunch of hankies. The second fabric has a very cool pattern that imitates the look of patchwork blocks, which I think could be used to make a make a clever quilt. I was wondering if I might use the hankies in a quilt as well, if I layered them on top of plain white blocks. I think I'm beginning to develop a hankerchief addiction.

another horse dress

I guess I really like horses, because I made another horsey dress. I found this cool corduroy on sale at Joann's. I have a better picture of the dress on the dressform, but I just liked this one with Pete doing yoga in the background.

chocolate chip cookies

Simple, but yummy:

3/4 c sugar
3/4 c packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 c flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 c butter
1 tsp baking soda
2 c chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar together in electric mixer. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time. In a separate bowl, mix flour and baking soda. Add flour mixture gradually to wet mix until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoonfulls onto parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 f. for about 10-15 minutes, until browned at the edges. I like them more crisp and therefore brown all over. My husband likes them chewy, so I cook some 'til just the edges are brown.