And to all a good night…

Best Wishes for a Peaceful and Healthy Holiday Season

It's a Holiday Re-run

 'Tis the season -- for cookies and for re-runs. It's been a while (14 years, really?) so here it is again -- Chocolate Rum Balls, with a couple of notes at the end. Apologies to most of the world for being a lazy American and not including metric measurements. We really should have learned all that by now. 😞

C is for Cookie...

Need something chocolate for your holiday cookie platter? Here's a favorite from our house. While there are plenty of recipes out there for no-bake cookie balls, I think this is one of the better ones -- and I say that based on years of sacrificing my waistline in the quest for tasty treats. Resist the urge to eat these until they have 'aged' overnight. It takes a bit of time for that fudge-like consistency to develop.

CHOCOLATE RUM BALLS

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate morsels (chips)
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 3 Tablespoons rum
• 1 package (9 oz.) chocolate wafers, thoroughly and finely crushed
• 3 cups powdered sugar (divided)
• 1 cup finely chopped nuts
• 1 container (about 8 oz.) chocolate sprinkles
• small container candied cherries for decoration, if desired

In a large bowl, mix cookie crumbs, 2 cups of powdered sugar and nuts. Being careful not to scorch, melt chocolate morsels in either the microwave, or in the top of a double boiler. Pour melted chocolate into crumb mixture, then add orange juice and rum. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or even overnight.

To shape: roll dough into small balls and then roll them in the sprinkles. When all the balls are rolled, chill them for a bit until they are firm enough to easily handle. Blend the remaining sugar with enough water to make a rather thick glaze. Dip each ball halfway into glaze. If desired, decorate the top of each ball with a sliver of candied cherry.

NOTES: I use Nabisco chocolate wafers for these. They come in the right sized packet and they're nice and thin and crush easily. However, any plain chocolate wafer that you find pleasant to eat will work. In fact (and I'm not too proud to admit this) in an emergency Oreos (with the middle 'goop' scraped away) has been used to no ill effect -- but trust me, the wafers are easier! They can often be found in the ice cream 'accessories' (cones, fudge sauce, etc.) section of the supermarket, rather than in the cookie aisle -- go figure.

In some parts of the US, chocolate sprinkles are known as "jimmies" -- call them what you will, but they are the little chocolate rod-shaped thingies used as an ice cream, cookie, or cupcake garnish. FWIW, you can find real chocolate sprinkles in  (link removed)The Baker's Catalog, but regular supermarket ones work just fine.

Powdered sugar also uses the alias of 10X, or confectioner's sugar.

Over the years I've refined my technique for rolling these: take a small scoop of dough, gently roll it in your hands until it 'just' softens. Now, put some sprinkles in your hand and continue rolling gently until the sprinkles (mostly) cover the ball. Works much better, and uses less sprinkles, than trying to roll them around on a flat surface or in a bowl.

No need to refrigerate cookies after they have been rolled and decorated. Frankly, around here, they just don't last that long!

NOTES: I don't think that King Arthur Baking carries the real chocolate sprinkles currently. It won't matter if you use the supermarket variety.

Some folks don't care for candied cherries -- a sprinkle of red colored sugar atop the glaze adds a festive touch if you don't add the cherries.

It was asked if a teaspoonful of bourbon vanilla could be used instead of rum. Sure, just don't call them Rum Balls! 😀

Woolies

 The weather here is starting to enter winter territory, although there are still some warmer days, so it's time to get serious with wool -- one hand knit, one sewn.

Mr. Minglingyarn has become a big pickleball fan and plays (outdoors) with a group that calls itself 'The Polar Bears'.  Alrighty then -- how about a hat to keep those ears toasty? I made a slightly altered version of the 1898 Hat and was delighted to find a graph online for a polar bear. I needed more rows for the bear design than would have been available by knitting the pattern as directed, so I simply cut down the width of the garter edging. The ear flap shaping stayed exactly the same, but a narrower band gave me the extra rows for the design. I also knit the hat flat instead of in the round so that I would have a nice open space to do the bear in duplicate stitch. This was my first experience with duplicate stitch and while it's not perfect -- it will be fine for a hat worn while playing.

I also (just happened) to be browsing Mood Fabrics recently and found a grey/black wool knit in buffalo plaid -- no link, as I believe I got the last bit -- snapped that up so fast the cart was spinning! I am always cold so wool knits are my favorites for winter tops. When the fabric arrived I was a little apprehensive as it was thicker than expected, but it handled really well with just a few adjustments to my machine and serger. I decided to sew a stripped-down variation of  the Toaster Sweater. Bring it on Ol' Man Winter -- I'm ready!

Scarves, Specs and an Injury

First up, a couple of (somewhat) newly finished scarves. I found some yarn tucked away from long ago and decided it would make a couple of nice little accent scarves. There's the Madrona Lace Scarf by Evelyn A. Clark, knit in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock mediumweight, color: My Wild Irishgirlie. 

I didn't have enough beads to use over the entire scarf, so I just placed them at each end (where they are pretty much invisible, sigh).

I also turned up a skein of the same yarn in a lighter weight, color: Firecracker, and used that to knit up the Cassis Shawlette by Petit Bout de Moi.

The pattern called for nine repeats of the border -- I did eleven -- but it is still rather small, so this will be a little dash of color around the neck rather than a full-fledged shawlette. I'll probably fasten it with a small pin so as not to lose any length to a knot. Made as per pattern, with the exception of a picot bind off along the inner neck edge.

This too has a bead detail (square bead at each point) also invisible unless you are right on top of it. Oh well, it was practice with placing beads.

I finally made it in for an eye checkup after putting it off for so long during the pandemic, and what do you know?, I needed a stronger prescription! I've needed progressive lenses for a while, but never wore them because I found them hard to know where I needed to focus, but there was no escaping it now -- I just need to wear them and get used to them. I still like to have separate glasses for close work, so I went with RED. Classic shape, and the red is clear so it doesn't shout RED the way matte does, but they are cheery and make me smile. 

So now I won't get them confused with the progressives (which are pale blue). I may have also gotten some peacock green cats' eyes for close up work too -- don't judge! 😀

And the injury? Freak tripping incident that left me with a sprained wrist -- dominant hand, naturally.  It's taking a while to get better, but I can now sew again, so there's that. The up side? So many drudgery tasks I couldn't do, plus tasty delivered meals -- back to real life now though!

Shoulda Known Better

 I’ve been sewing some things for my ‘at home’ autumn/winter wardrobe and checking out a few fabric options at various sites — as you do.

This led me to a vendor I had previously ordered from and was on the fence about the quality of their fabrics. BUT, they had a buffalo check cotton/Lycra knit! Just the thing for an autumn cowl neck top! I wanted it! It was on sale — under $7 US — what a steal!  That should have stopped my fabric lust immediately. There may have been a time that $7 could get you a nice cotton knit, but that time isn’t now.

The fabric was listed as ‘medium weight - 10 ounce’. It may be 10 oz (per yard, I’m guessing?) but medium weight it is not. It’s thin, and about the weight of cheap multi-pack underwear t-shirts sold in discount stores. The only real heft to it is the solid black squares which have been heavily inked (printed) and have a stiffness to them. After washing it was very skewed. Sigh. My own fault for being blinded by a print I wanted. I didn’t want it to be a total loss, so I did the best I could with it, but it really is no better than a RTW fast fashion item and will be worn as an under layer for as long as it holds up.

I’m not mentioning the original retailer, as I accept full responsibility for choosing a fabric I really should have known would not be up to (my) standard. However, I see it is also carried by fabric.com for $13.37 and $14.04 ( different colors — why do they do that?). Still labeled as ‘10 oz. ‘— but now also called “heavyweight “! Uh no. I see not much is left, so this may be a useless buyer beware, but nonetheless…

Next up I’m trying a new (to me) pattern line using the French terry I got from Stylemaker Fabrics. More later.

A Few New Fabrics

 Category 2 - casual life outside the house. I haven't done an inventory, but this is probably the largest category of clothing I have. Clothes that look good, feel good and work for many situations -- casual dining, museum visits, movies, brewery or vineyard tastings -- all the things put on hold for so long. Since most items here haven't seen much wear lately, I really don't see a pressing need to replace anything. I did purchase a navy sweater blazer on sale as it seems like a versatile third layer.  I'll make a few new things -- just for fun and a little mood brightening -- and because I keep buying fabric.

I found an interesting ponte at Stylemaker Fabrics:  

It has a napped, almost wooly feeling outer layer and a tweedy reverse side. It would make a nice jacket, using the reverse side as a contrast. I made pants however (Style Arc Barb), so only used the herringbone side. Love the way they feel and I hope they won't be prone to pilling due to the texture. I got the black/grey colorway -- they may still have the black/white and black/burgundy options.

Also from Stylemaker Fabrics -- how about an animal print French terry?  Love that it's grey (and not brown tones) -- at the time I bought it a couple of weeks ago they also had it in two other background colors.

The version I chose was the Cozy Animal Spot French terry cream/grey.

My original thought was to use it for Simplicity 9275, but when it arrived I felt it was just too drapy for that style. Instead I'll happily use it for a cozy cowl neck, or perhaps Style Arc Verity Knit top.

Since my autumn/winter neutral colors are black, grey and navy these two fabrics will work with many items already in the wardrobe.

I also picked up a navy/grey stripe shirting fabric (100% cotton) from Fabric Mart and will make a long-sleeved shirt from that. The stripes are not evenly spaced, so that should provide an opportunity for some creative pattern placement. 

So, a few new things to brighten up the wardrobe, but no real needs. I should have plenty of time to devote to sewing for my last category -- at home wear. This is an area that really could use a large dose of style -- am I up to the challenge?

Planning takes a detour

Planning continues, but now with serious intent. Instead of just pairing up fabrics/patterns I want to answer: "What do I already have, and what do I need for the life I actually lead?"

In these uncertain times, I've narrowed my needs down to 3 categories: 1) life at home 2) casual life outside the house and 3) business suitable. At present there seems to be no need for formal party attire -- should it arise it would most likely be dealt with by a RTW purchase.

I start with the smallest category - 3) business suitable.  I am a woman of retirement age, so no need for a daily professional wardrobe. However, at times I find myself in settings where I am more comfortable looking more pulled together than usual. A classic blazer would work well for this, but I don't find the look to be that flattering to my shape. A tailored pant suit is taking 'business' a step too far. Instead, I've gone with a RTW sweater jacket in a black/white check. The knit fabric softens the look, but still gives a more polished third layer.  I recently received a 'you haven't shopped with us lately' offer from Talbots, which combined with a sale and a free shipping offer, offered up this merino sweater jacket at a very nice price. 

Black slacks and a white, jewel-neck top will be the other 2 components of this look.Those will be sewn by me. 

I have a nice black knit from Gorgeous Fabrics, (Italian viscose doubleknit) for the slacks. My go to pattern is Style Arc Barb, but SA Linda would work too.

For the top I’ll go with a fine gauge merino jersey. I hope to be able to get this fromThe Fabric Store in NZ. Pandemic lockdowns appear to be affecting their shipping of some items at the moment, so we’ll see how that goes.

I’ll use my TNT top pattern from Pamela’s Patterns - The Perfect T-Shirt, altered to have a slightly raised neckline, long sleeves and a straightened hem.

So, two easily sewn and already fitted patterns to complete Category 3. Should be very do-able. 

Next time: Category 2) Casual life outside the house. Here’s hoping there will actually be a need for this grouping in the coming months.