This might make me quilt

I don't quilt. Not really as a rule, I just... don't. Nothing against it really. Mostly I haven't found anything so compelling that I'd want to do that. I imagine it taking a really long time and it probably being sub-standard from what I'd be able to buy. Maybe kind of philosophically I have a little problem with it... like I think it used to be done to make use of scraps of material and make something useful out of almost nothing. Very utilitarian and thrifty, right? Now you can buy quilting cotton for like $15 a metre and then cut it up and put it back together differently... and well, I guess I just don't have a great appreciation for that. Now it's a luxury. I'm not really sure why that bothers me, I just thought of it one day and it bothered me. On top of not having much of an aesthetic appreciation for the craft, that part bugged me.

But then I saw this quilt, which I thought was so neat. Because I could see my kids loving this. So, if anything was going to get me to quilt, it would be this. Found on Ohdeedoh.

This even looks doable to me. Not a lot of piece work. Maybe even machine quilted.

There's one other quilt that really intrigued me. Since I could never afford to buy one, I'd probably make one (still the likelihood of that happening is small). But I thought this was cool. And like I said, I don't usually have an appreciation for quilts. Also featured on Ohdeedoh, though I saw it somewhere else a couple months ago.

That's a map. I could totally see doing one like that of my neighborhood. I think that would be so neat.

I love this: maezm

My hubby sent me to this website: sub-studio design, where they've featured maezm and a couple of their really sweet designs.
Fabulous.

I made this: Banana

I found this really great free amigurumi pattern site last week that I just had to share. If you like to crochet small anthropomorphic things, this website is just the place for you. While I was intrigued by the severed fingers pattern that came up in my google reader today, I poked around a bit and found this great banana pattern. I have made some other amigurumi play food for my kids and I started to attempt a banana earlier this summer, but got caught up in trying to make the pattern curve like a banana. This pattern really relies on the way you stuff the banana to get a curve to it. But it works. And it's a lot better than the banana I never finished.

 I like how this shot of the banana looks like it's in a police line up.

Pizza Dough

I have been making my own pizza pretty regularly for nearly a year. It has become something of a Sunday tradition for our family. We all look forward to it. We've taken a bit of a hiatus from pizza making through most of the summer, since the warm weather and hot hot oven do not go well together. I have been asked by a few people if I have a favorite recipe for pizza dough. As it turns out, I totally do. I posted previously on my personal blog, about making pizza (and having an oven fire). I gave my mom's pizza sauce recipe there.

Here's a link to the dough recipe I use. Since I'm not really sure how recipes and copyright and the internet work/don't work together and I try to respect people's property rights, I'll let someone else give you the dough recipe that I use. I got it from this book: Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. It has a chapter on pizza and flat breads. So go get the recipe and come back here and I'll tell you what I do with my dough for the rest of the instructions.

So, after I've made my dough and let it rise and chilled it, I turn on the oven to 550 degrees with my pizza stone inside, then I dust the top of the dough with a little flour, and then cut of a grapefruit sized piece of dough with a serrated knife. After that, I fold the dough inside out by taking a bit from the middle and folding it over and tucking it under the bottom all the way around to make a nice smooth ball. There's no kneading here. Then I use a fair bit of flour since it's so sticky to work with and shape a nice flat pizza shape. I don't make huge pizzas, but I do like the crust thin, so aim for 10-11 inch diameter pizza. Before dressing the pizza, I put it on my pizza peel that's covered with a good sprinkling of cornmeal (to help it slide off). I bought mine at my local Italian Market; I feel so cool when I use it. Then I dress the pizza with my mom's pizza sauce, some fresh basil and mozzarella cheese. The kids like pineapple on their pizza and D likes some meat; I'll occasionally indulge them. Even if the oven hasn't fully heated up, I gently wiggle the pizza off the pizza peel onto the pizza stone. Close the oven, let it cook for about 5-10 minutes. I usually cook it for 10 minutes and turn it around half way through to get it to brown evenly. Take it out, let it cool a bit and serve. Delicious!

Here's my second favorite recipe, given to us by some friends along with pizza pans for our wedding:

Traditional Pizza Dough

2 3/4 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
3/4 cup warm water (or more depending on how dry your climate is)
1 tbsp olive oil

Mix flour, salt, yeast, sugar in medium bowl
Add water & oil
Mix to a soft dough, knead on a floured surface 10 minutes, until smooth (or 2 minutes in KitchenAid mixer).
Place in greased bowl and cover with cloth. Let rise in a warm place 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Punch down and knead briefly. Shape dough into 2 thin crust pizzas or 1 thick crust.

 For thick crust, put on favorite toppings and cheese and cook at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until done and cheese is bubbly.

For the tastiest, cripiest crust, dress your pizza without the cheese. Then cook at 500 degrees for about -4 minutes until the crust firms and the toppings start to cook. Remove from oven and then remove from pan. Top with cheese and fresh herbs. Place back in the oven carefully and cook ntil the crust is brown and the cheese is bubbly ans starting to brown (about another 3 minutes). You have to watch this and you need lots of space, but it's worth it.

Hexagonal Stacking Boxes!

These are awesome. I love little containers. I want to buy small things in bulk so that I have little things to put in great containers like this.

Please go and download the free pdf from Evil Mad Scientist Labratories and make yourself some cool hexagonal stacking boxes. That's right stacking boxes! I love these already.