potted pumpkin pies

My friend asked me to make little potted pumpkin pies for her witch party last weekend. They were super easy to make and look great in a big stack! I think these would be a nice addition at a Halloween party or to add a little twist to Thanksgiving dinner.

Make your favorite pumpkin pie recipe (I used this recipe from Everyday Food). I doubled the recipe which gave me enough filling for roughly 20 little mason jars. Fill the jars, stopping about 3/4" from the top. Bake at the usual temperature, but start watching them carefully after about 25 minutes since they won't take as long to bake as a pie. Pull them out when the center seems set (mine took about 35 minutes). Let cool for an hour or so, then throw them in the fridge while you make the whipped cream.

The whipped cream recipe includes a bit of unflavored gelatin, which you dissolve in some water and then fold in. I worried this would change the texture of the cream, but not to worry, the whipped cream was delicious and the gelatin helps it keep its shape so it doesn't fall the way ordinary cream would when left out for a bit. Spoon some cream into each of your jars, filling all the way up to the top, and screw on your lid. Return your jars to the fridge until you are ready to serve. These can be made up to a day ahead.

A few shortbread cookies or ginger snaps would be nice for a little crunch.

the witching hour

First, an apology: These photos don't do justice to this beautiful party. Everything was so lovely in real life, and I'm sorry that I couldn't capture it better with my camera (low light and I do not get along!).

My friend Aleisha has started a new Halloween tradition, a witch party she calls "The Witching Hour". The invite read "Leave your warlocks at home, don your most bewitching attire and come revel in an enchanting ghouls' night filled with a sinister supper and wicked company. Brooms and black cats will be checked at the door. A prize will be awarded for the most spellbinding hat." A baked potato bar was served for dinner. Friends gathered in the backyard around a glowing fire, decked out in black (think striped tights, pointy hats, and lots of black tulle!).

For dessert, I brought some little pots of pumpkin pie (served in tiny mason jars). There were delicious raspberry bars and marshmallows for s'mores to be roasted on the fire.

Little hand pies were left at the door as a favor "for the flight home".

a quilt for baby M

My mother deserves all the credit for this beautiful little quilt. She let me help pick out the fabrics, but she cut and stitched and pinned and quilted it all on her own. And I LOVE it. When I look at this quilt I see my mother in it, her perfect corners and her neat rows. It's as if she stitched a bit of herself into each little triangle. My little girl is so very lucky.

The pattern we chose is the Flock of Triangles quilt from Denyse Schmidt's beautiful book, and I've been wanting to make it for years. I have a weakness for bold quilts with simple, geometric patterns, especially when they are on a white ground.

I've been taking weekly and monthly photos of Baby M on this blanket, and I love seeing how big she's growing. When I started she was only about five triangles tall, and now she's almost eight!

The photo above was from Week 2, back when Baby M was still on a breathing monitor due to her early delivery. I'm happy to share that the monitor is long gone and that her legs have now probably tripled in size. She is a chubby happy three month old, and we about die each and every time she smiles.

color story #8

My sweet mom offered to make a quilt for Baby M before she was born. Since I've made a few quilts myself, I realize how much time they take and so I knew what a special gift this would be.

My mom and I headed up to Purl Soho's warehouse to pick out some fabric together. When I moved from New York three years ago I was especially sad to leave the Purl stores on Sullivan Street, but lucky for me, their warehouse happens to be here in Southern California. (And did you know that the warehouse is open to the public? You can stop by from 9 AM to 2:30 PM, Tuesday through Friday.)

We went with shades of red on a white ground (more of a natural white, almost cream) and tried to stay with simple, geometric patterns: stripes, dots, and grids.

wee wonderfuls: the book

Wee Wonderfuls was one of the first crafty blogs I discovered, so I have long been a fan of Hillary Lang and her handsewn toys. The folks over at STC Craft, also the publisher of many of the books I design, asked me to be part of the blog tour for Hillary's new book, Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love (you can see the entire schedule here).

Lucky for me I had an eager four year old who happily flipped through the book with me, and declared about eight projects her "very favorite". It's tough to pick just one. Tiny little mermaids, topsy-turvy dolls, sweet little bears and giraffes, there is a ridiculous amount of cute. Bee finally settled on one project, the Tag-a-Long doll, which fits in a little apron you can wear. We'll be starting it immediately.

One of my favorite parts of Hillary's blog has always been her stash of vintage children's books, so I asked her to share a bit about her thrifting habits and share a few of her favorite books.

Where do you find so many beautiful books?

We spend a lot of time at used book sales. We try to hit more remote, less "hip" communities and then go on the last day when the books are dirt cheap, like a dollar a bag, and there are always lots of great vintage books to scoop up.

How did you start collecting?

One of the things my husband and I discovered we had in common when we first met was our love of the second hand. We spent a lot of time at flea markets, book sales, thrift stores before the kids arrived on the scene. And we're both book lovers and suckers for great illustration so we had quite a book collection ready to read to our kids. Funny though, they're not all great reads. I definitely pick a book by its cover, and endpapers and font and illustration, etc. When we started actually reading the stories out loud we discovered we have some real stinkers. Especially some of the crazy bad holiday books. They're hilarious!

Here are some favorites from Hillary's latest haul:

Love the sleeping animals on the endpapers of this copy of Sleeping Beauty (illustrated by Vivienne Blake). How cute would it be to make a series of sleeping stuffed animals, bedtime pals.

I love books that are done in just a few colors. (Ten Big Garms, written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar)

And books with every color are good too. Love the technicolor of this one! (Foolish and Wise, editors Nila Banton Smith, Hazel C. Hart, and Clara Belle Baker)

Eloise Wilkin melts my heart every time. Those little faces are burned in my memory from my childhood books. (The Make-Believe Parade, story by Jan Margo pictures by Eloise Wilkin)

I just love these colors. And that poor sad little Betsy, how cute is she. (Betsy's Adventure, story and pictures by Gwyneth Mamlok)

To see more of Hillary's finds, check out her Vintage Books flickr group.

And to enter to win a copy of Wee Wonderfuls, visit STC Craft's website and tell them about your favorite childhood toy.