Because 2 days is never enough.

I modified a baby hat pattern to make a sort of starry night hat for my sister-in-law’s baby (due in 4 weeks!).  I am currently working on a second hat for Felix that is identical so the cousins (who will be only 3 months apart) can have matching hats.

Felix was kind enough to be the hat model for the first hat.

In scanning through the last couple entries here, it looks like maybe I have entered this dark, childless place, just making craft after craft for other people’s babies.

But rest assured, that’s not really the case. Instead, I’ve delighted in all these baby items for one big reason: They are SO much smaller than grown up stuff. Consequently, so much faster and cheaper to make than something for adults. And, as an added bonus, the sort of bloblike cuteness of a baby means you don’t have to go crazy worrying about making things fit. It’s just so much easier to lavish attention on little ones.

These little baby slippers are a case in point. Sort of. They were not exactly quicker, since it took me a long time to make up a pattern that actually worked. I spied an adorable pair of slippers in baby Sophie’s room. I went on a mission to figure out how to make them myself. The first pair would have been tight on a small doll, and then second one was a bit like Cinderella’s slipper when Felix agreed to be my foot model last weekend.  These haven’t been tested on an actual baby foot or anything, but man are they cute. I just want to eat them.  And, they were the perfect use for  scraps, including the remnants from a hemmed pair of Karl’s pants, part of a sweater Karl shrunk, and pieces left over from old sewing projects.

At the rate of babies turning up this year, it’s pretty lucky I’ve hatched upon a quick gift, since I can’t keep up with quilts!

The phrase “mission accomplished”, for grave recent historical reasons, may bring to mind someone who, say, celebrates completing something that is decidedly not finished. Maybe a war, or, less terribly a baby quilt. I’m in the latter category, of course.  I suppose I was sort of asking for trouble when I wrapped up the 3/4 complete baby blanket and gave it as a gift at Mindy’s baby shower with a note that read “Dear Baby, I’m not done yet. Please wait until August.” I should have known myself better.
August rolled around and even though Felix took his own sweet time coming in to the word, the extra couple weeks did me no good. I kept procrastinating the remaining hand quilting and finishing the quilt with bias binding. I think my uncertainty about how to actually do the bias binding was the root of my mental block. That or the markedly non-quilting weather we get in a sticky New York summer. Every time I saw Felix, though, I felt more guilty about my inaction. I had visions of finishing the quilt and sending him off to college with it.
Last weekend, though, I had a small quilting renaissance in my apartment. I got some good, simple bias binding tips from the quilting teacher at Fiber notion and swore to myself that I would finish the quilt by the end of the week.

Lo and behold, I actually did it. The fact that it was a gloomy rainy weekend helped, as did the fact that Felix is getting so very cute.  I ran into some trouble with the corners, so I had to jerry-rig a solution.  But overall, I think the whole thing came out really well.  I have to thank my mom, who helped me pick out the fabric when she was visiting back in June.

I have to say, I actually feel pretty proud of myself. And as great as the quilt looked when I finished it, it look a lot better once Felix got his hands on it. Hopefully it will be well loved.

ps. Mindy’s craft project is looking pretty awesome too!

You may have noticed that Mindy and I have not be frequently contributors to our blog over the past few months. Mindy has an iron-clad excuse (infant) and I don’t have anything nearly convincing.  This summer, I just wasn’t feeling the urge to make stuff that I generally feel. But, as soon as the weather turned just mildly more crisp, I got the inspiration back.  All I could think all last week was how much I wanted to bake a pie that weekend.

Well, I’m here to tell you that it pays to dream big. My childhood fantasies have all come true and I did, indeed bake a pie. But not just any pie.

The Tartine Cookbook is unparalleled. Pretty pictures, good design, but most of all phenomenal recipes that let me recreate the out of this world sweets at the Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. The secret for the apple nougatine tart is to carmelize the apples in butter and sugar before you put them in the pie.  Not surprisingly, butter and sugar did quite the trick on this pie.

Delicious. And I think I turned a new leaf on craft procrastination. I’m ready to take on the big guns, like the baby quilt that’s basically ready to file neglect charges against me.

It’s official - I have finished knitting the baby blanket (and successfully completed birthing class), so the baby can now arrive!

Erik picked out the colors for the blanket, which is knitted in Blue Sky Alpaca organic cotton.  The great thing about this pattern is that it forced me to learn how to pick up stitches on a completed work since the ruffled edge is knitted after the rest of the blanket is complete.

Now I have to get used to the idea of my beautiful blanket covered in baby spit-up.

Jess, Kate and I had a fun-filled adventure at the Renegade Craft Fair in Williamsburg not too long ago. We strolled the crafty aisles and ogled the goods after consuming brown rice crispy treats (with cranberries, almonds and flax) from the beloved Treats Truck.

There were definitely some recurring themes, the most prominent being mustaches. That’s right - mustache jewelry, mustaches on t-shirts and notecards, etc. And it also seems safe to say that squirrels are the new owls.

Needless to say, all three of us walked away with some great purchases. One of mine was a felt patch featuring a cute marsupial with it’s offspring. It seemed especially appropriate for me to use it as a way to customize my Ergo baby carrier (which will be my way of making myself into a marsupial).

Note from Jess:

Check out some photos here.

The photos feature the mustache meme and other common indie-crafter motifs like perched birds, ironic t-shirts, and fonty cards.
Speaking of birds on wires, Mindy and I were particularly taken with these and each bought a necklace.

(I temporarily lost my little pouch with the business cards I picked up, so I’ll try to figure out who makes all this stuff and post it when I get the chance)

Neighbors Project is about mobilizing new generation of people living in cities who are bridging the gap between newer and older residents in our neighborhoods. The Neighbors Project disseminates tools, technical support, and inspiration to help this happen. My friend Kit is the CEO and my friend Jeffery is the President of the Board.

One neighborly project of the Neighbors Project is the Food and Liquors project, which is based in Chicago and is working to encourage neighborhood bodegas to sell more fresh produce and neighbors to shop there more. As a fundraiser, the organization put together the Bodega Party in a Box kit, which includes, among other nifty treats, a cookbook with recipes from food bloggers around the country.

As I mentioned, I’ve got friends in high places at the Neighbors Project. Hence, I’m a “food blogger from around the country” now. And, if it weren’t exciting enough to be published in this great looking 44-page book, I’m also in Conde Nast Traveler online.

Check out the Neighbors Project and order your Bodega Party in a Box now!

And… as seen in Conde Nast Traveler online:

Banana Bread Pudding
by Jessica Arnold of 3DayWeekend
Clinton Hill, Brooklyn

In order to make this banana bread pudding, you’ll first need to bake banana bread. You’ll only need one loaf for the bread pudding, but it’s nice to have another loaf. If you’re anything like us, you’ll find a way to enjoy the remaining loaf (like hot out of the oven, with some butter).

Serves 8 to 10
Drink with coffee or tea

Ingredients:
2 loaves banana bread
Custard
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
5 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Garnish: 1 banana (optional)
Bourbon Sauce (optional, recipe below):
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons bourbon, or more to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs.
3. Cut banana bread into one-inch cubes (it’s okay if it crumbles).
4. Add milk, cream, sugar and vanilla.
5. Add bread cubes and allow them to soak for half an hour, gently pressing the cubes into the custard occasionally.
6. Pour mixture into a baking pan or casserole dish.
7. Optional: Slice a banana into coins, and layer coins on the top of the bread pudding. If garnishing with bananas, bake the bread pudding covered with a sheet of tin foil until the final ten minutes.
8. Bake until set and golden on top, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Bourbon Sauce Directions:
1. Melt butter in small sauce pan.
2. Whisk together sugar and egg and add to sauce pan.
3. Whisk constantly over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes).
4. Allow to cool and add bourbon.

Serve Banana Bread Pudding warm with sauce drizzled on top

I’ve been wanting to hang a bulletin board above my desk for a while now, but I could never find cork board that was appealing.  I looked online for nice cork squares but they cost more than I wanted to spend.

Erik and I were in a long line at the new Ikea in Brooklyn recently and while we were waiting I noticed a bin full of trivets near the checkout counters.  The trivets were made of cork, came in packs of three, and were only $2 a pack.  A bulletin board in the rough!  I bought two packs of trivets and hung them above my desk using self-sticking foam mounting tape.  Voila - a funky homemade bulletin board for cheap!

Our dear Mindy is about to have a baby.

In order to celebrate this joyous occasion, we had a small shower for her friends and family at my house. We naturally emphasized the handmade for the festivities.

The lovely and talented Kate helped me with the invitations, providing inspirational genius and supplies, including an introduction to Speedball Speedy Stamp Blocks. I’m used to the old linolium block, which I love/hate. I have made some great prints with lino, but have also dug my carver deep into my hand on pretty much every project. The speedy stamp is, well, speedy. And injury free!

For the party favors, I hunted some thrift shops in Manhattan for old (cheap) teacups and made some “tea-lights.”

Mindy and her mom, Joan, made some delicious finger sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies, and the Tartine shortbread cookies that could break your heart. Add some ginger scones and strawberry rhubarb compote and ricotta, honey, fig crostini and I think my stomach was as big as Mindy’s by the end of the party.

Being the official 3dayweekend baby is a pretty big job, and there’s a scary possibility that this kid will be wearing a tragic, knit wardrobe and playing with odd, homemade toys. But we’ll have to wait until August 2 to find out (or will we???)

I have been extremely remiss in posting blog updates, but I have a good excuse - I’m pregnant!  Or as my friend Alyssa says - I am working on the ultimate craft project.  One that spawns many other craft projects along the way.

The first completed baby project is a stuffed duck that I knitted.  I am embarrassed to say that I started knitting this duck for a friend’s baby (who is hardly a baby anymore) and by the time I picked up the project again it only made sense to make it for my baby.  (How convenient!)

My brother, Stephen, was visiting last week.  When he saw the duck he got excited that I had knitted a Ferdinand replica.  As soon as he said “Ferdinand” I immediately remembered that I had a stuffed animal duck when I was a kid named Ferdinand.  I totally forgot about him until Stephen mentioned it.  Unfortunately neither of us remember how Ferdinand got his name, but it really is the perfect name for a duck.

Meet Ferdinand (#2)…