A Little Something for a Special Little Someone!

A good friend and hub recently welcomed their "little man" into the world. I wanted to make something for the baby and send it to them ( They live faaaar away!). But with the holidays and guests and everything else, this little project got stalled!

Anyway, my new year resolution and the fact that the little guy may grow out of it by the time I'm done, got me back on track and I finished this crochet blankie and a teeny tiny bunny to go with it. Most of you must have already recognized the pattern. I think I'm the last person to jump on the Tiramisu Baby Blanket bandwagon . I followed the original pattern, except making 111 chains in the beginning instead of 91 and I used Bernat Baby Sport yarn in Fun print. I must admit that I am not much of a knitter, but the the person who inspired me to pick up my knitting needles, Julie Williams has her cute rabbit pattern here.

In case anybody is curious about the new year resolution that got me going, I decided I should stop buying and hoarding craft supplies till I've used all the stuff in my stash. Ha ha! I broke that resolution twice already. To my defense, I only broke it to keep another of my resolutions - to get serious about sewing! And, who knew that Joann Stores would have their Winter Warm up Fabric Sale in mid-January? Blame it on them!!!!!!

Mita.

Baked Lemon Cake Pudding

I had to go scouting for a non-chocolate dessert recently, as one of our guests for lunch was a no chocolate person. So I finally zeroed on this one. It was an experiment and am quite glad that it came out well. The texture and the color too came out like in the book. Tastewise, this is for people who like the lemony flavor. My chocoholic husband liked it too. As it is cold here, I served it warm.

1. Lemon - 2 med. sized

2. Eggs - 2 Large

3. Sugar - 3/4 cup

4. Milk - 1 cup

5. Flour - 3 tblsp

6. Salted butter - 2 tblsp

- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 6 ramekins.

- Grate lemon finely to get 1tblsp zest.

- Squeeze juice of lemons to get 1/4 cup of juice.

- Powder the sugar.

- In a bowl beat egg whites to soft peak consistency. Gradually add in half of the powdered sugar and beat till dissolved.

- In another bowl beat egg yolks and remaining sugar till blended.

- Add in zest, flour, butter, milk and juice and beat till blended.

- Gently fold in egg white mixture into this.

- Pour into prepared ramekins.

- Set ramekins on a baking pan. Fill this with water to come half way up sides of ramekins.

- Bake for 40-45 mins till pudding tops are golden and firm on top.

- Garnish with a slice of fresh lime and serve warm.

This really was an easy dessert to make.

love,

gita

Cake Take! - Wedding Wish!

This weekend my cousin S is getting married to her Prince Charming R. As we live on the other side of the world, we are left cribbing about the fun everybody else is having there at the wedding(including the other sister, Gita)! I'm sooo jealous! Even my girls feel robbed of their chance to be flowergirls and twirl around in pretty dresses. We've been calling in to check on whats going on regularly. Right now the previous day function is underway, so to curb that urge to pick up and dial, I thought I'd send the couple a wedding wish!

S and R, Wishing you both love and strength, wisdom and faith in the new life ahead. Happy Married Life! And R, Welcome to the family!

Mita.

p.s

This cake was made a while back when we had our sibling reunion. I was having another chocolate meltdown (literally!) with the chocolate heart topper, when in zoomed "SuperBro" to the rescue! (Yes, we watch a lot of Sesame Street around here!) All was well and the cake went off to an engagement party!

Silk Ribbon Embroidery

This post is inspired by the work of a little boy who did Silk Ribbon Embroidery. I was impressed by the neatness, color combinations and the fact that he finished it!!! Then his mother told me that it is very easy and anyone can do it. So that got me hooked...and I browsed for information on this very old form of fine art. Soon I learnt that it is true...anyone can do it and also it is not at all time consuming. I practised different stitches and finally stuck to the lazy daisy stitch for my table cloth project.

As in any other form of embroidery, SRE also has to start at some point and end at some point. Melissa's videos in her blog "http://honeybeesbliss.blogspot.com/2008/06/getting-started-in-silk-ribbon.html" was of great help and I followed all her instructions to the T.

The best part of SRE is that the ribbons come in so many beautiful shades and on a white/cream background they look lovely and you just can't go wrong!!!

Another reason that encouraged me to try out this craft was after I stumbled on Carol Daisy's blog "http://caroldaisy.blogspot.com/". Even the design on this tablecloth that I have tried is adapted from her silk ribbon embroidery on a christmas stocking. She has also put up tutorials for the basic stitches and different kinds of flowers. So for those of you who need inspiration...check out..!!!

Happy New Year and Happy Stitching...!!!

love,

gita