Cookies on parade

Today at work we're having a cookie exchange. I've never done one of these before, so I'm excited about trying all the different cookies. Everyone brings 3.5 dozen. The half dozen is for eating today (sharing with non-baking coworkers) and then we pick out 3 dozen to take home. I had always wanted to try decorating cookies with royal icing so this was my big chance. Jen and Scott joined in the fun, and it was a Sunday afternoon cookie icing party. I had some snowflake sugar cookies already made and frozen, and we baked some fresh gingerbread men and gingerbread snowmen as well.



I used plastic squeeze bottles from Walmart (98c) for the flood icing (solid background colors)



I was astonished when Scott offered to help...



Look at him go!



Naked gingerbreadmen.



Clothed gingerbreadmen.





Snowflakes, flooded and awaiting details:



Ahhh...pretty...



Thumpity thump thump



I had fun piping the scarves.

More baby shoes

I made more baby shoes, this time with ducks, or chicks, and a button closure.



I copied these from someone one Etsy. Hers are about a hundred times better looking so I'm not giving you the link. Ha. But I wanted to say I didn't invent these myself. I made them as a gift for my friend who could be going into labor at any time now, and she doesn't know the gender so yellow seemed like a good idea. Things I would fix if I made another pair: I would change my pattern so the seam of the lining matches the seam of the outer shoe; I would make the lining smaller so it's not so bunchy; I would make the buttons fasten symmetrically to each other, instead of the same way...oops.

I also made a bib. Sticking with the yellow theme for the pocket, I used a tropical fabric (baby will live in FL) to make my own bias tape. The pattern for the bib is here.



I love the little gable boxes from Papertrey Ink to package these.



The set:

Knitting stuff

Presenting... a knitted hat. This was my first time knitting in the round. And only my second time knitting anything. I started this hat on a size 13 circular needle. My stitches were a little too loose to start with so you can see the brim is a little loopy. As I began to descrease to form the crown, I had to switch to size 10 double pointed needles because the circumference of my hat was smaller than the circumference of the circular needle. I think I actually liked knitting on the DPNs better. I was getting tired of having to slide everything around the circular every few minutes. So here I am, modeling:



Here is Jen, modeling how securely it stays on the head, I suppose...



Remember the scarf?

It's quite warm and wide...

Thanksgiving photos

I busted out some impressiveness this year for turkey day. First was a cheeseball, which was actually really really easy to make. And I got to use my Tastefully Simple "Garlic Garlic" mix. It gave us all Garlic Garlic breath. Yum.



I just stirred up 2 blocks of cream cheese, one bag of shredded cheddar, and the spice pack. Then I rolled the whole thing in paprika, stuck a cinnamon stick in it, and added a bay leaf. People ooo and ahhh at these sorts of things.



Here are some other shots of the spread...





Pea salad has become a holiday tradition with our family. It has all the essentials... green vegetables, fatty mayonnaise, tasty bacon and salty cheese. Forget the turkey. Give me pea salad.



There were so many desserts we had to put some of them on an ironing board.



And there at the end of the table you see my other contribution for the year, turkey pops. Not made with turkey, now that would be disgusting. These are of course made with chocolate cake.



The heads are chocolate covered macadamia nuts (ah, Hawaii, I will visit you again someday...)



The waddles are bits of sour gummy worms. I started to add eyes and beaks but I got too weary.



Just be careful about eating too many of these. The sugar might make you do something like this...







I also finished up my first knitting project over the weekend. A blue scarf!