Shhh! Don't tell on me, but I took a week off work to recuperate from a surgery that isn't going to happen after all. I fell off the ladder when I was painting the ceiling, thinking I only hurt my foot--not badly, just OW!--and two days later, my ribs felt sore. I went to the doctor and she said Gall Bladder! I had an ultrasound, and they said, yeah, gall bladder. So I scheduled things, asked for a week off and then the surgeon said no, nothing wrong. Carry on. So I am. Today, a truckload of mulch is coming, Weft is going to the vet for his annual check-up, and in between will be fibery fun.
First of all is some secret crocheting. Yes, you read that correctly: crocheting. I'd love to show you, but I can only show you a snippet. I'm trying to get something done in time for the baby shower on April 1, and I doubt I can, but that won't stop me from trying.
Secondly, I ordered two new PDF patterns to be printed this morning. There's the Classic Shirt by Modern Sewing Company and the Town Bag by Grainline Studios (http://grainlinestudio.com). The Town Bag is a knitting bag, but I think will do well for an everyday bag, too. I want to try it in denim, and I have some upholstery fabric from Mom's stash I want to try, too, with some leather or suede trim, also from her stash.
And finally, some more Worker's Trousers from MSC in a plaid fabric from way back that I've been carrying around for decades. But check out the fabric I've used for the binding and the pocket lining!
And I put a single-welt pocket in the back instead of the pattern's large patch pockets. It took me at least five tries to get this pocket right. There was cursing. But it ended up nicely in the end. And yes, there is a lot of cat hair on these pants. Every time I set them down, someone laid on them. It'll come out in the wash. I still need to topstitch the waistband and hem them. Up next for this pattern is some 97% cotton-3% spandex denim in off white. I'll make them slightly longer, single-welt pockets on both sides, and I'm on the look-out for some sexy lining fabric.
Tuesday was Pi day, 3.14, so I made two: the apple crumble--my favorite!--on top was for my fiber group that meets every Tuesday, and the bottom one was pecan for my sister. It turned out to be the best pecan pie I've ever made! It wasn't so cloyingly sweet as most, certainly not as much as the recipe I used to use in my professional days. I adapted it from a recipe on the New York Times Cooking app. The crust recipe is from the American Heritage Cookbook, my family's all-time favorite cookbook.
PECAN PIE
Crust:
In a stand mixer with paddle, combine:
2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup shortening
1/3 cup cold butter, cubed
Mix until the butter and shortening are in small pieces, about the size of small peas.
Pour in slowly with the mixer running:
ice cold water, about 5-6 tablespoons
Mix just until the dough starts to come together. Remove from mixer and with a few quick strokes, form into a ball and flatten to about 1 inch thick. Wrap in parchment paper and chill for at least an hour.
On a floured table, roll dough to about 1/8" thick and drape carefully into a 9 inch pie pan. Flute edges and place in the freezer while you make the filling.
Filling:
Combine in a bowl:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Cream well, then add:
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole eggs (4-6, depending on the size of your eggs)
Add the eggs slowly, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
Par-bake pie shell for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
Pour into par-baked shell:
2 cups pecan pieces
Pour filling into shell over pecans. Now, here you can get fancy and place pecan halves on top in a pattern. But it always breaks my heart when you cut into it, and the pecan halves push into the pie.
Bake at 350 for about 35-45 minutes, or until custard is set. Let cool before cutting and serving.
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