novamade

the least functional quilt ever

A while ago, I signed up for a quilt swap (of course I waited till the last minute to make the quilt, but this is how I do my best work.  If you only have a minute, it only takes a minute...right?).  I liked the parameters for the swap, there weren't any, really; but, it was suggested that we try a new technique.  I decided to try my hand at free motion quilting since I have never done it before and it scared me.  Seriously, the idea of it made me nervous to get close to my sewing machine.  Sometimes, I can be stupid.

Look at all the happy yellow free motion quiltling.  I don't know what I was so afraid of, it wasn't really that difficult; and, it was fun.  Maybe I will try something bigger next time.  Maybe.

I hope my swap partner likes it.  I seriously hated to send it away. More details in the gallery. 

ketchup and caramel

Hey, Little Tomato, ketchup!  Actually, catch up.  I was going through some pictures and realized that I never posted pictures of a quilt I finished last month.

I made this quilt for a special little guy named Dru.  I was sending a quilt for his new little brother, Marley, and I didn't want him to be left out.

Also, the quilt that I originally started for Dru before he was born two years ago crawled under a rock in my basement (aka "craftland" or my "studio", you pick) and died.  Seriously. I lost it.  A whole quilt waiting for binding.   But that is okay, I like this one better (with the exception of the center strip that taunts me with its imperfections even now).  I'll put further information in the gallery, should you be so inclined to know it.

The perfect quilt for a lil' cowpoke (which just seems so much funnier to say--and type-- than cowboy).  Little Sir helped pick out the Robert Kauffman prints, which were floating around in a local Jo-Ann's for whatever reason.  I like the bright vibrant colors of this quilt.  They are fun.

You know what else is fun?  Caramel (I know, terrible segue).

Today/tonight (details), I made you a Carmelized Nut Tart.  This is a great tart/pie.  You probably have everything you need for this tasty treat in your cabinets.  You can sub in any sort of combination of nuts and it tastes amazing (probably because of the caramel).  I also made the crust called for in the recipe which provides the most unexpected and tantalizing dose of cinnamon to which compliments the earthiness of the nuts and the sweetness of the caramel perfectly.  Sublime.  And easy; actually, quite easy.

making things for others

It's what I do.  It brings me joy, yadda yadda... I am back from vacation... Hey, look at this!

I made this apron a while ago, but since I am trotting out all of my productivity for this wee parade of sorts (to divert your attention from other projects, ahem), I thought I'd share it. 

Little Sir impressed me by saying "ceviche" while watching the Food Network (in our house, this is considered "educational television viewing") and asked why the cook wasn't wearing an apron.  "Because he's Rocco DiSpirito," wasn't really an acceptable answer, in hindsight, I realize this.  And since my kid isn't Rocco (yet), I figured he needed an apron.  So I made one. 

I have already mentioned that my sewing is pretty mediocre.  I am also one who tends to like guidance (i.e. directions, patterns, templates, something); but, I figured it was an apron, how hard could it be?  DIY-time! I took a look at my apron and cut some upholstery fabric samples I picked up 5 years ago for no reason other than they were in the sale bin (I was less discriminating back then).  It's not perfect, but it's an apron, the point is to keep the kid's pajamas clean.

Because Little Sir is totally my sous chef.  I mean really, have you ever seen anyone handle an egg so chef-tastically?  I think not.

He helped me make today's pie, a Fresh Orange Tart with Hazlenut Crust a la Greenspan via epicurious.com. 

I We made today's Piehole Wednesday contribution for my friend M whose husband is going to Iraq on a photojournalism assignment.  She needed cheering.  The pies, they bring cheer, especially this one.  It's a good one...but it's a little, shall we say, involved.

Luckily, I had help.

There is no heat involved here, don't get your panties in a twist.

And that is how I get all the baking done.  Secret's out.

welcome to the world, here's some pie

One of my oldest friends (perhaps the first I can remember having) had a baby recently (our parents grew up together in Florida--the dads-- and Korea--the moms-- and we lived across the street from each other when we were kids, she is kind of like my big sister, actually).  The baby is cute.  Cute babies deserve cute quilts (though I have made some quilts for some ugly babies too, so I guess cuteness isn't really a prerequisite for quilt making for me).  I am not sure if there is anyone else in Angie's life who feels the same way I do about the babies and the quilts, so I thought I should probably make sure Marley (that is said cute kid's name, how cute is that!) had a quilt to soil in creative ways love.  (Also, it was a great way to avoid weaving ends. And no, Minty, I am still not done.  That is how pathetic I am.)

I am not trying to kid myself or anyone else, my sewing skills are craptastic rudimentary, at best.  I need more practice to achieve the awesomeness adequate results that I can produce from knitting; but, honestly, I don't think I have it in me to knit a baby blanket.  I have crocheted them (though I really know very little about crochet); but knitting a blanket is like knitting a really wide and short scarf to me.  I hate knitting scarves. 

Anyway, this quilt...  I did a re ally good job piecing this quilt (if I do say so myself, and I do) and the layout is pretty cute--nothing like a charm quilt to emphasize fun creative fabric that one stumbles upon in Jo-Ann's.  Binding quilts make me nervous, but I think I did okay with that. 

I used Joelle Hoverson's method of machine binding because she is a genius (and also Marley had already entered the world at this point, so my deadline had come and gone so the binding needed doing lickety-quick-like). 

My problem is always the quilting.  I basted this thing like crazy; but, maybe I need to switch to basting without all the pins.  Also, I suppose it is a good idea to know how you are going to quilt the quilt before you baste.  I kind of made it up as I went un-clipping safety pins along the way.  Very inefficient (and just a little stupid) and, it didn't produce quite the finished look I was going for, but it is quilted.  It has also been packed, shipped and received.  Welcome to the world Marley. 

I hope you enjoy your quilt, because you certainly can not enjoy the pie I made for this week's cyber consumption.

It is a simple pear pie.

The filling is quartered pears with sugar, cinnamon and a squeeze of lemon.  It was supposed to have a walnut pastry crust; but, I left out the walnuts. 

It was still pretty good though.

I left out the walnuts because I got distracted.  I was working on Marley's quilt.  You know, priorities. 

procrastination in e major

This post might make you wonder about me a little; but hey, I walk around wearing chocolate as an accessory, so there you are...

Because I have become an expert in the fine art of project avoidance and procrastination in general, I thought I would deliver today’s post in song (or lyrics), to the tune of the Major General Song with some a ton of variation here and there (with apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan and to you, really).

I am a fine example of a modern knit-procrastinator

I have so many ufo’s they can’t be counted with a calculator

There is a tomten needing ends weaved in

But weaving ends does not make me grin

Even though it involves touching wool

And though that usually makes me drool

I just don’t think weaving ends is that cool.

To avoid weaving in my ends

I make the most of gifts from friends

Kirsten sent me merino, take a look at this:

I spun the wool and set the twist

I really think it’s fabulous

I have no idea what to do with it

I don’t want to let it sit

But I try to be good and put it down

Then I pick up the tomten and go to town

But I want to knit everything I see—

This has been made worse by Ravelry.

Instead of weaving in my ends

I imagine purchasing new project bins

And filling the bins with yarn I do not need

Due to my very slow knitting speed

And my stash is larger than it seems

It is the stuff of knitting dreams

I’m not complaining

I’m just saying

I have a lot to occupy my time

And fitting in all my interests is an uphill climb

To achieve some balance I try and take a rest

But my conscience always becomes a pest

And I think about the tomten sitting in the wings

I know all the other projects are really flings

But every time I take time to sit

I find a way to procrasti-knit

In my weaker moments I rediscovered the quilting bug

Because to me, sending a quilt is just like sending a hug

I sew badly but make great haste

I take the time to pin and baste

And when it’s time to bind the quilt

I leave that too to try and spin some silk

(My procrastination knows no bounds

It’s not as bad as it probably sounds)

When my hands get tired, I turn to the internet

There’s so much inspiration there, I kind of need some limits set

First Brooke began her weaving kick

Her work is so amazing it kind of makes me sick

I would love to weave things half as good

But I don’t weave and instead of knitting as I should

I troll the web for some sort of simple loom

Special K says, “you’re crazy we have no room”

But I think something small and simple would be fine

And it would likely not take up a lot of time

And time is quite the commodity

But still I return to the internet to scope what else there is to see

But I try to avoid spending more time on Ravelry

And then I go to flickr and note that Mandy dyed some wool

That struck me as really cool

Have you seen the singles, I don’t think the yarn will pool

When all is said and done, I just go and bake a pie for fuel

Because it’s Wednesday and I am a pie-baking fool

And I am still avoiding all those ends

I need to find a way to make amends

But there are so many ends to weave in it’s ridiculous

They make me feel like Sisyphus

But I am not discouraged because I like to procrasti-knit

And I’ll always find a way to let the knitting sit

It’s not as though I’ll every quit

Because I love knitting and it loves me

But weaving ends is as dull as dull can be

And I’d rather ignore all the ends I see

But then Little Sir gives me a face

And it puts me in my place

So I pick up the knitting and weave in ends

Keeping in mind advice from friends

I’ll finish the tomten, but bit by bit

Because I’ll still be prone to procrasti-knit.

I know.  It’s a special kind of crazy.  Info about today’s pie is in flickr.  Things should return to normal (which for me, admittedly, is still a little crazy) at the end of the week.  There may even be an fo!  No, not the bain of my existence tomten...

feelin' fruity

Alternatively, I could have titled this post "taste of summer," either way, a fruit normally associated with summer is involved.  Strawberries!! 

And here, I have to admit, I am running out of pies of interest to entice you; so today, I give you a tart, which some would say is not a pie; but, whatever, there's a crust, there is some filling and it's tasty.  Also, tarts are just so pretty.

This strawberry and lemon curd tart is a mish-mash of recipes (lemon curd taken from an old Bon Apetit magazine; and the crust was a shortbread cookie crust from Joy of Cooking because I feel like any crust from this book can not be a bad one.  Anyone can do it,  especially you, Liz!).  I was originally going to make a strawberry pie; but throwing some berries in a pie crust was not the sort of adventure I was going for.  Also, it sounded soggy.  I had some pretty strawberries, woefully out of season here in Connecticut (my apologies to Barbara Kingsolver and all other localvores out there) and since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, I thought something special (and red) was in order.  This, my friends, is special.

Most strawberry pie recipes have you plopping whole strawberries (with the tops cut across) right on the pie crust or pastry filling, for whatever reason, I could not accept this aesthetic.  I sliced and spiraled/fanned them out.  This made me happy.  I also brushed them with the cooked down seedless strawberry jam.  It wasn't the neatest when cut in slices; but, you can not have everything.

But, if you are a friend of mine, I do try to be accomodating.  Especially if a birthday is involved.  So my pal Al--I made a Trellis cardigan for her little girl last year (an action shot of the sweater with a chid that does not belong to me should be forthcoming)-- decided that she was going to buy a sewing machine for her birthday.  Al, at this particular point is the least crafty person I know, so the news of sewing machine acquisition filled me with all sorts of excitement.  I had visions of me and my friend sewing...whatever friends sew together, I have no idea.  So, obviously she needed a sewing kit.

In a cute bag.  A box bag to be specific.

The honeycomb box bag was the practice run to make Al's bit of fruitiness.  My pal Al, she has a thing for fruit, particularly apples and strawberries.  But pears are good too.

The practice was needed, I learn by doing and doing the first bag helped me to figure out that reading and understanding the directions you are following is a useful thing.  Also, I was able to work out how to produce a bag that would adequately hold a collection of things.  Very necessary to hold her new collection of sewing gizmos and gadgets.

I totally stole this idea from Diana (genius), by the way.

So yeah, happy birthday, Al!  Now sew.  Sew, mama, sew!

it's better with cheddar

I already made an apple pie (with raisins and rum, it was a good time); and, I like to be original; but, I have become not just a little obsessed with the whole cheese in the crust of fruit pie thing.  I am blaming those of you suggesting the cheddar and apple pairing in response to my Gruyere and pear pairing last week.  Because of your suggestions, I made my usual apple pie recipe from Joy of Cooking with the Pate Brisee crust--with the cheddar, don't forget the cheddar.  Thank you.

After thinking of all the ways to add cheddar to an apple pie (chunks mixed with filling? slices on top of the bottom crust before putting in the apples?), I came to the conclusion that I didn't want cheese floating around in my apple pie filling, it just seemed weird and incongruous.  So I did the same thing as last week and grated the cheese (maybe 3-4 ounces worth?) into my pate brisee dough.  I used sharp cheddar, I think I will go with extra sharp cheddar next time; but, this is still the best apple pie I have ever eaten.  It was incredible.

Clearly, I am never making apple pie without a cheddar crust again.  Because seriously, it was amazing.

You know what else is amazing?  When people tell you that you make their day.  Apparently, I make a lot of you smile, and that makes me smile.  Thank you Opal, Haley, Lisa, Kirsten, Tiennie,  Rangsiwan, and Rachel.  I am glad that I make your days; but, is it me or the pies?  I wish I could send you all your own personal pies, I really do.

I was thinking of just letting this go by without any sort of public acknowledgment on my part; but it seemed a good opportunity to share some blogs that you might want to be reading if you aren't already.  It was hard to crunch this down into a list of ten or less, so I decided to list the last ten blogs I have had a conversation about with someone who  isn't involved in knitblogging or blogging in general.  Or as a friend of mine would say, "real" people, as opposed to  us unreal people who blog.  Right.

Adam of Adam Knits.  I am trying to convince Special K that he wants to knit, I frequently refer to Adam and his knitting (and dyeing) skills as an argument for why engineers should knit.  Adam is an engineer who knits, Special K is an engineer who does not knit.  I recognize that my argument would be a lot more persuasive if my husband actually knew Adam or read his blog.  Details.

Diana, aka Ms. Bestitched.  She knits she sews and her posts always make me smile.  Diana is one of the first people to leave a comment on my blog and she has one of the cutest little girls in blogland, I heart LL and Diana hearts Little Sir (seriously, she sent him maracas, if that isn't love, what is?!).  I frequently find myself talking about Diana and LL in normal conversation with local friends who ask about how I met them.  "Well, I haven't met them...really.  I know them through blogging..."  This is usually where I get the look that seems to say "oh, she is talking about her imaginary friends again."

Kirsten,  who goes Through the Loops on a daily basis.  Kirsten is talented as all get out (you have probably knit one of her patterns, or you might have one of her patterns queued up to knit, if not go peruse and add one), but her kids are really talented and impressive too.  Her teenagers sound so extraordinary and likable, and I have to be honest, teenagers kind of scare me (despite the fact I have a child, children in general scare me, but there you are).

Christy who claims that she is Neither Hip Nor Funky, but who is, in reality, both.  Her brand of wit and humor is something I totally subscribe to.  Also, we both got spinning wheels at the same time, and it's been fun watching her progress, maybe sometime, I will show you mine.

Leslie, who is a good Friend to Knit With.  She is a skilled knitter and everything, but she bakes too.  I bake pies every week, she bakes cookies every week.  I have recently been told that defending a pie baking habit by using a knit-blogging cookie baker as your sole defense is a weak argument.  That person now gets no pie.

Ashley who is dogged.  Because I still want to be like Ashley when I grow up.  She knits, she quilts and she does these activities with such wit, style and flair.  She is one cool cookie.

Parikha who lives at 617 awesomeville.  She knits, and her photography skills are pretty amazing and I have a special place in my heart for people who get excited about cooking, baking and chocolate truffle making.

Stacey who hearts orange.  This is not a knitting blog, it is more pictures and anecdotes about everyday life.  Stacey is actually a "real" person to me.  We studied to be archivists together at library school.  My very first conversation with her was about the evils of addiction to caffeinated beverages which contain vanilla.  She just got back from doing humanitarian work in Africa and she was stuck in line with a crazy person talking about vanilla flavored cola.  I am so glad she never held this against me.  Stacey is, without a doubt, the coolest person I know (she climbs mountains and zip lines through trees in countries she doesn't actually live in.  That's cool.).  She also has an amazing talent for gift-giving.  She always knows the perfect thing to gift.  That is talent, people.

Do you know Mo of Mo Rocca 180?   Maybe it's an acquired taste thing; but, I love Mo Rocca.  That's right, I said it.  I love Mo Rocca.  Don't worry, Special K knows all about it.

And last, but certainly not least, Rangsiwan who is also known as YaiAnn.  I am pretty sure that Rangsiwan and I are somehow related.  I find inspiration on her blog all the time.  We talk baking, quilting and sewing quite a bit, and I have very few friends who are as enthusiastic about these things as I am besides her.  She knit me a sock that I plan on knitting the mate to this month.  It's red.

You are probably aware of a good number of these bloggers, but if not, please do go get acquainted, you'll be glad you did!

And to end, here is something I am glad about.  I am glad that when I decide to try to make something new for a friend, I make a "prototype" for myself first. 

Practice makes perfect, right?  It's a little on the small side, but it will hold a sock project.

More about this tomorrow.  I have gone on for too long, and you are probably tired of reading.  So tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel.

of winners and wheels

So I had a little contest.  Some of you commented.  Of 93 guesses, there were 7 correct guesses.  Seven.  Apparently, I am a craftilicious woman of mystery.

The bag I originally made for myself was bag #6.

Bag #3 was for my friend Anne in New York.  She is very hip and very funky and she doesn't even try (it might be a New York thing, but she was that in when I knew her in Boston too).  I thought adding the "grandmother's couch" interior fabric to the bottom of the dotty circle fabric toned things down a little.  I liked the effect.  I hope the contest winner does too.    Little Sir drew the name for the contest winner.  I tried explaining the procedure to him, but I got this look of "mom, I have done this before."

After playing with the bag for 5 minutes, he finally pulled a name from the bag.

Congratulations, Elinor!  You are getting THE bag with a bunch of yarn shoved in it!

The bag that I am keeping because it went wonky is bag #11.

I tried to give you a hint by stuffing it with the yarn of a current project (a bunch of Noro Silk Garden, I am sure none of you have any idea at all what I am knitting).  The process of making this particular bag taught me quite a bit:

• yelling at whatever you may be sewing is not going to make the situation better; really, it won't
• sometimes, it is not your sewing machine; it's you (or me, you know what I mean)
• polyester is a little bit "melty", there is a polyester setting on the iron for a reason
• mixing synthetic materials with cotton, probably not the best idea (especially if you are not going to change the heat setting on your iron)
• slinky materials are not fun to sew
• I should not buy polyester ever again.

As wonky as it is, it does make for a cute project bag.  Special K's birthday scarf has been very happy sitting in all that slinky feels-like-silk-but-isn't goodness.

And lastly, I wanted to introduce my newest friend.  Well, really she is an acquaintance right now. We don't know each other that well, yet.

This is Penny.  She is a Lendrum DT.  I tend to like dark finishes and, originally, that was going to drive my selection, but then I realized that was probably not the best plan for me.  After testing a few wheels, I knew that this was the wheel for me (though I think Christy's wheel is pretty special too).  I still don't really know what I am doing.  But I managed to get something on a bobbin.

Since he didn't want Penny ("the Spinny") to be a source of great frustration, Special K also threw in some spinning classes (to make the whole package the best Christmas gift evah).  So that should be good.  I am pretty excited.  I am not so excited about spinning that I will drop the knitting though...because really, the whole spinning thing drives the whole knitting thing, right?

the gal with the bag, the bag of yarn

So I made my list, I checked it twice; and, then I realized there was no way I was going to give everyone on that list something knit with love (or whatever emotion I feel at 3 in the morning).  After going through the list a third time and considering your comments from the last post, I figured something sewn would be just as appreciated. Thank you for the sweet comments about Penelope, I am sufficiently puffed with pride, you guys!  Seriously. 

So sewn gifts, people like them!  And here is a good sewn gift, a tote bag.  Useful, right?  So I made 11 of them.   Yeah, that's right, I said wrote 11...eleven.  My copy of Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts has seen a lot of use this week--I heart it.

Every single one of these bags was intended for someone special (myself being part of the list, I have been told by many how "special" I am, harhar...).  I had a mishap, and really, let's be honest, none of these bags is perfect.  No curves, but apparently sewing a straight seam poses a difficulty for me as well.  In any case, they were made with the goal of making my friends smile when they see what I sent them and then using the bags and loving them (got that, friends?).  And look, I made it so they have to think of me every time they open the bag.

Subtle, right?

While working on these bags, I saw my ridiculously large stash of yarn every time I looked up from the sewing machine.  I don't feel guilty about my stash, I just feel like it is too large.  Large in a way that really can not be justified (in some places they call that guilt, not in the place where I live though...).  So in an effort to decrease my stash, thank you guys for spending your precious time reading my babble, be generous, spread the jolly and decrease my stash, here is a contest for you:

Each bag is different, there are some similar ones; but no two are alike.  7 of the bags have been gifted, they are gone, flown the coop, as it were.  4 of the  bags are left, 2 will be gifted later and 2 are mine.  I do not need two bags (Special K would say I don't need any; but, whatever).  While sewing, one of the original bags went wonky on me, so I am claiming that one for myself (I came up with something else for that person).  The bag that I originally made for myself is, therefore, up for grabs.  Can you guess which one I originally intended for myself?

One little hint that may or may not help you: Like Christy, I consider myself neither hip nor funky.(A little more help: if you haven't figured out what my favorite colors are yet, I pretty much spell it out for you in my "about" section...it's not short, shocker.  Have fun.)

How to play:  Go to the flickr page with the mosaic of the top image and check the bags out all detective like.  Note the number of the bag that you think I originally made for myself and leave a comment for the contest on this post (not another post to follow or from the past--and not on flickr--here please!) with the number of the bag.  Start your comment with the number please (feel free to follow with beautiful prose should you feel so inclined, I do enjoy your comments, words of wisdom, etcetera).

If only one person picks correctly, hey, winner!  If there are many correct guessers, Little Sir will pick the winner out of THE bag.  The person who wins gets THE bag, filled with yarn.

What kind of yarn?  All sorts.  There is some Great Adirondack Yarn Co. Soxie, a skein of Sundara sock, some Opal, a skein of cotton chenille, some Cascade 220, Debbie Bliss Merino Aran, more stuff... all fun I assure you...it's a pretty sweet bag of goodies, I think (I am biased, of course). And hey, when you empty THE bag, new knitting bag for you!

One guess per person (wherever you live), slap that guess in the comments by 11:59 p.m. EST--or New York City time as my mom likes to say (that's 2359 for some of you) December 31st, I will announce the winner in the new year.  I will end my year by lessening my stash and some lucky someone can start her (or his!) new year with more yarn (like any of you really need it!). Okay, who's playing?

seriously?

Joelle?  Hillary?  4-8 hours?  Seriously?  Around hour 10, I was trying to figure out what kind of idiot I was.  Mostly because at the onset I was thinking, "oh, this should only take 4 hours, maybe even less."  How hubristically pompous am I?

Peanut, she is no joke.

I have always thought sewn softees were cute.  But I have to admit, I didn't think there was that much to making them.  Softee makers of the world, please excuse my pomposity.  You people have the patience of saints and are ever so talented.  I salute you.  I wave my knitting needles in salute to you.  All of you.

 

Perhaps the cutest part.

In all fairness to Joelle Hoverson and Hillary Lang, this project took me longer than it should have for many reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with them:

1) I did not have template plastic and had to trace on paper, glue it to cardstock and cut that out (that added on a little time, but not much--coming up with this solution, that is another story).

2)  I pretty much sew short seams (posturing to be straight) while peicing together fabric for quilts.  I have never sewed a curved seam in my life.  Peanut is pretty much all curves.

3)  I pretty much have no idea what I am doing when I sit behind a sewing machine and just pray that whatever I stitch is passably decent.

4)  I am just a little stupid sometimes.

But I pressed on, because Peanut (actually, I started calling the elephant Penelope, but there you are) had to accompany this book (it is a beautifully illustrated book with fun poetry for wee ones).  They both had to go into the mail pronto to arrive in southern climes (hey y'all!) before Christmas.  So yes, the elephant is passable, at the very least.  Well, that is what I am going with.

I could have used some more fiber fill, so Peanut Penelope could have been stuffed a bit better, but at 3 in the morning, you have to just make do with what is at hand.

I wanted to knit an elephant, but I didn't think I would have time.  But now, in hindsight, I think I would have.  I will get to test this theory though.  Little Sir was so upset when I tried to explain that this book and elephant were not for him.  So I ordered him a book, and sometime between tonight and next Tuesday I will have to knit an elephant.  Probably this one.

To recover from the trauma that was sewing Penelope, I had to do something I knew I could accomplish successfully, with much panache. 

My pomposity got the best of me again though.  My pastry bag expoded and would not pipe fine lines, so my snowflakes were sad, and thus could not be given away en masse (I take my Christmas candy and cookies seriously, folks).

We are naked!

But everything else turned out spot on, I'd say.

I felt like I had to give you something kitchen crafted in the absence of pie (you will have to wait until 2008 for more pies from my kitchen, sorry!).

Okay, I am off to knit something.  Like maybe an elephant.  Sigh.