Fancy things with fabric

I have decided to take on trying a new lost art. The art of making lace. It requires bobbins to hold the strings. The beads at the top of these English style bobbins are to assist them to lay flat as you work your piece of lace. I finished beading all of my bobbins...which is called spangling and I made a holder for my bobbins using some scraps of material that my grandma gave me from her collection so it holds not only my bobbins but memories as well.

They fit nicely in this and it is perfect for storing them as well as carrying them around. This is going to be handy and keep my bobbins from getting all tangled. ♥

Snowman in my front yard!

When you are small everything seems so large. I remember winters as a kid and it seemed like we got mountains of snow. The snow on either side of the sidewalk was so high it was difficult to see over. I live in the same valley now as I did growing up. It may be perspective, but I am fairly certain we don't get as much snow as we did when I was young. No wonder we hear stories from our parents about how when they were little and they had to walk up hill both ways to school in snow six feet deep!

I have always liked the snow. My brother and I would wake up and be so excited to go out and romp in it all day long. I remember countless times trying to build a snowman and rolling the ball around until it was too heavy for the both of us to push any further. We would end up making forts and such with the intended snowman body parts because we weren't able to lift them onto each other.

A couple of my kids really like the snow. One of them that helped me build this snowman is going on eighteen and he still plays in the snow!

I love the background in this picture. It almost looks surreal.

Ultimate Cinnamon Rolls

The quest for the BEST cinnamon roll recipe ever is now complete! Yummy!
1-1/2 T. yeast
1/4 C. warm water
1/2 C. shortening
1/3 C. sugar
1-1/2 t. salt
1 C. milk
1 egg
4 to 5 C. flour
Mix the warm water and yeast and let stand 10 minutes. Scald milk, pour over shortening. Add sugar and salt and cool to tepid. Add yeast and beaten egg. Add four cups of flour one at a time, beating after each addition. Knead until smooth. Put in a oiled bowl and let raise for 1-1/2 hours. Roll out into a rectangle. Cover with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nuts and raisins if desired. Roll up. Cut with a piece of dental floss into one inch sections (I usually like my cinnamon rolls to be taller but if you make this recipe larger than one inch they won't cook in the center). Place on a greased jelly roll pan and let raise another hour. Bake in a 350 degree oven about twenty minutes (I ended up cooking them 25 min.). Remove from pan and frost with a glaze.


2C. powdered sugar
1T. melted butter
1t. vanilla
2-4 T. milk
Mix and drizzle over rolls while still warm.

Making Lace

My sister and I got together the other day and made some lace. It is very addicting. I learned some basics and she made her first bookmark.

Cream Puffs

I asked my 19 year old son to follow the recipe and make cream puffs for me while I ran to the store. They turned out better than when I make them!

The recipe is my grandmothers.

Cream Puffs

1C. water

1cube butter

1C. flour

4 large eggs

Bring water and butter to rolling boil. Stir in flour over low heat, stirring until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat.

Stir in eggs one at a time, beating until dough is a smooth ball. Using teaspoon drop on cookie sheet about 3" apart.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until puffed, golden brown and dry. 

Custard Cream Filling

3/4C. sugar

1/3C. flour

1/2tsp. salt

2C. milk

4 egg yolks, beaten

2tsp. vanilla

Mix sugar, flour and salt. Stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir about half of the mixture into the egg yolks. Blend this into the hot milk mixture. Bring just to a boil. Add vanilla. Chill. Fill puffs.

Bobbin Lacing!

I made a cover for my pillow and finished spangling one set of bobbins! My sweet mother crocheted a bobbin holder for me. I am excited to commence learning how to make lace!

My pillow is made from the blue insulation board that you can purchase at a hardware store. I have found that it works well.

I have also discovered that having a stash of lapel pins is helping me to hold the bobbins out of my way while I am learning.