A Love Story...in Yarn. Or A Yarn About A Dog and her Love of Tasty Fiber...or...

When we were learning to crochet, our dog Miss Cricket Bug decided this blue yarn looked delicious.  So she picked it up and took it hostage. 

A dog, some yarn and Photoshop.  I needed a little chuckle.

I've been busy here at Studio Madge, promise to be back soon!

xoxo
Madge

Springtime Scarflet with Vickie Howell

Madge's slightly off springtime scarflet. 

I am going to be super busy all week, so here's a sneak peek of a project I made with the lovely and talented Ms. Vickie Howell on her new Stitch. Rock. Crochet-along page on Facebook. I will be back on Friday or Sunday at the latest. You can join the party if you like, just go join the page and dive right in!  Then you can get the pattern for the original scarf Vickie designed.  Somehow, I did not get the pattern right, it is meant to look like a net, not like fish scales.  Yet I am oddly smitten with these fish scales.  I tore this puppy up about four times so I'd best be oddly smitten or there may have been crochet hooks and juicy expletives flying into the woods off of our back porch!

Alas, I ran out of this yarn.  I tried to find more, but I think they don't make this watermelon marled anymore.

So....I got some new yarn and am trying again.  I will finish this with a similar monochromatic pink marled yarn on the other side and I shall tell people I meant to do that because I was being arty.

You will keep my little secret won't you?

I am sure grandma ran out of yarn now and again.  It's not like she could just hop in the car and zip off to Michaels...

I'm just sayin'.

Cheers.
Madge

Your Grandmother's Quiche Lorraine

Coming up with something exciting for dinner every night is...well...challenging! We tend to fall back into the same things because they're easy. Last night when pondering dinner, I remembered how easy it is to whip up a quiche. This is a recipe from The Joy of Cooking and I found it to be far more custardy and less dense than most. It was really quite yummy, even Avalon loved it.

Quiche Lorraine with Side Salad

You can surely make your own crust, but we used a store bought crust we crimped with a fork after brushing with an egg white. It took longer to cook than the recipe suggested, so just keep checking on it to see how it does in your oven. Once it's firm, lightly browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, it's done. Don't overcook or the eggs may get tough. We changed the recipe a little, no chives as Avalon doesn't like them, I substituted dill weed and it was delicious. You can also do a veggie version with broccoli, squash, zucchini, carrots, onions. I'm thinking about making a goat cheese, cherry tomato and basil version.

I served it with a simple chopped salad of romaine, cherry tomatoes, onion, carrots and feta cheese with a light balsamic dressing. It was all so good, we all had seconds!

Here's the recipe with a few alterations:

Quiche Lorraine with a Few Madge Additions


6 servings (in our case...three.)

Prepare a 9" pie shell and brush with an egg white, pricking it well with a fork.

Cook up 6 slices of bacon (we used turkey bacon) drain and set aside.

Scald 2 cups of milk or cream (we used 1 1/2 cups fat free milk with 12 cup of half and half.) To scald, heat on medium until milk foams slightly and begins to form a skin on the surface. Let this cool until just warm.

Then beat in a mixer until frothy with:
3 whole eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Dash of white or black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dill (Optionally add 1 tsp chopped chives)

Layer bacon and 1/2 cup grated swiss cheese (we used cheddar)

Pour custard over top. Back for 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the center is set.

Look for the Union Label

Copyright 1942 McCalls May Issue

I have mentioned before that my grandmother was a master seamstress. Most women knew how to sew back in the day. After The Great Depression, knowing how to sew meant being able to update the old dress or make something new out of materials you had at hand.  There simply wasn't money for fancy new dresses. 

I am seriously smitten with these 1940s pattern images. This is the introduction of the 'wrap dress'...years and years before Dione Von Furstenberg made her version in the 1970s. This style of dress is so incredibly flattering on all figures. I have a stash of vintage patterns, including some Haute Couture Vogue patterns from the 1940s on through the 1970s. It is my goal to learn how to sew well enough that I can take these patterns and make some brand new vintage clothing! They don't make clothes like this anymore...well they do, they're called haute couture and most of us can't afford them.  But we can make them ourselves!

Most of what is on the market is so poorly made and so horridly constructed. It looks good until you wash it a time or two and then...blah. Gaining the ability to repurpose and make it yourself means gaining an appreciation for the considerable skill involved in designing and making well tailored clothing. We used to make it here in America, some of you will remember the song: Look For The Union Label.

We don't have to wear crappy clothes made in sweatshops by people being paid pennies, we can make our own lovely clothes out of pieces we find at thrift stores and flea markets. We can...and I will learn how. Galdangy.

Love
Madge

Your Grandmother's Bunny Nest Coconut Carrot Cake Cupcakes

We had a surplus of carrots at Casa de Potter, so I decided to whip up some carrot cupcakes yesterday.  It was an epic task, the entire family got involved.  Then of course, we had to decorate them and take some fun pics.  The topiary is a project on my blog today, so if you'd like one of your own do visit and get the 411!  I used a traditional recipe, but added a little more spice to the mix.  The Bunny Nest is my idea, an excuse to buy several bags of jelly beans.  No, really.  We died the coconut and the talented Ms. Avalon Potter made these charming fondant carrots...how cute are these?!

If you'd like to learn how to make the 'retrofabulous' topiary, here's the 411!

Here's the recipe:

(Makes 24 cupcakes)

Make Cupcakes:
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups canola oil
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
3 cups finely grated carrots
1/2 cup flake sweetened coconut
Optionally 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Mix sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs until thoroughly blended.  Sift together flour, soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice.  Slowly add to blended ingredients beating until smooth.  Stir in carrots, coconut and nuts.  Pour into muffin cups.  Bake at 325 degrees for 55 minutes.


Make Frosting
1 package (80 oz.) cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Wilton icing colors soft pink

Blend butter and cream cheese until creamy, add vanilla.  Gradually add powdered sugar mixing until smooth.  I added a dash of pink food coloring, just a tiny dab will do!

Make Coconut Topping
2 cups coconut
1 dash Wilton icing colors soft pink

Place coconut in plastic bag.  Add food coloring and a splash of water.  Mix until coconut is evenly colored.

Decorate Cupcakes
1 bag jelly beans
Fondant
Wilton icing colors orange and green
Coconut topping

To make carrots, mix a small amount of fondant (1 cup) with orange food coloring and a smaller amount (1/2 cup) with green food coloring.  This is potent color, so a little goes a long way!  Form carrots by hand, adding green stem to top and using butter knife to create three creases in each carrot.

Frost cupcakes and dip in coconut.  Add five colored jelly beans and one carrot to each cupcake.

Restyling with Needlework

Today's Crafty Inspiration hails from May 1942 McCall's Three Magazines in One and is a World War II suggestion for updating last year's wardrobe or adding a little panache to this year's new attire.  Lovely needlepoint accents give anything a Folk Art flair and I'm finding myself in a folk art frenzy these days.  Needlepoint is not as difficult as it looks, as a child I loved doing needlework with a hoop and embroidery floss and I've featured a few needlework projects in my books and magazine projects.

Do you do needlework?  My friend Corrine of Jafabrit's Art has infused her fine art with embroidery and it's very compelling stuff.

Big thank you to Eileen Bergen of The Artful Crafter for awarding The Versatile Blogger award here.  I don't like to name favorites, so just consider yourself awarded, gentle reader!

Love
Madge

Granny's Perky Pillow!

Granny's Perky Pillow

Well...I did it!  I made my granny square pillow.  The final frontier will be a zig zag afghan incorporating colors from the first and second pillow to pull it all together.  I only had to tear it apart 5 times.  Yes, that's five times, people!  I was so determined that I persevered.  I love how the center looks like a shamrock! 

Love these colors!

No, not perfect, but not too bad for a first attempt!

Tools and materials!  Love The Crochet Dude!

This is one giant granny square made with Loops and Threads Charisma bulky yarn in fuchsia, electric blue and grass.  There are nine rows graduating from center.  I used an L-11 Crochet Dude for Boye crochet needle.  I started with 6 chain stitches followed by a slip stitch.  From there it was the classic pattern of segments of three double crochet stitches worked in the center of your chain stitched circle.  The first granny square segment is 12 double crochet. The next segment is worked between each group of three stitches in the first.  You will make 24 double crochet stitches.  To form a square, you need to add two chain stitches between each group of three stitches in the corners and one chain stitch between your corner groups. So it's 3 dc, 2 ch, 3 dc, 1 ch, 3 dc, 2 ch, 3dc, 1 ch, 3dc, 2ch, 3dc, 1 ch, 3ch, 2 ch, 3 ch, 1 ch ending with a slip stitch as you start your next row. As you move from center, the next rows of double crochet are formed around the chain stitches between your groups of double crochet and of course the number of segments keeps expanding.  As you change colors, the little yarn ends are threaded back into the back of the design using a large tapestry needle.  I made one row of double crochet in pink around the finished square.  The back is 25 rows of double crochet that needs to be as wide as the front.  Make sure to add two chain stitches at the end of each row as you work the back.  Then stitch it all together with the tapestry needle and pink yarn.  Don't forget to make the back of the pillow facing outward, so it's in the opposite direction of the front because you're making an envelope for the pillow form.

And that about covers it!

Cheers!
Madge