Recipe: Perfect Vegan Sugar Cookies from the John & Kristie blog; includes recipe for the icing and photos showing how to dip the cookies. I used the edge of the bowl to gently smoosh off some of the excess, and sprinkled the vampires with sparkling sugar while the icing was still wet.
The icing needs to set for several hours before the cookies can be stacked; if you are also in Hawai’i and dealing with those super-annoying tiny ants that can get into just about anything, including Tupperware, and wondering how I managed, I laid them out in the snap-top plastic containers with the rubber lined lids – the ones I have are branded “Xeonic” and “Snapware” and I’ve purchased them at Don Quijote. It did occur to me this morning that I could have put them on a tray in the fridge for about an hour – I put the leftover icing in the fridge and it got solid very quickly.
You can find edible glitter, sanding sugar, and crystal sugar at Bake It Pretty (bakeitpretty.com). They also carry cookie cutters (pine tree, “folk” pine tree, and “folk” gingerbread boy). I found cutters at a local grocery store (Star Market). Bake It Pretty will also be selling gel color paste soon. I used Wilton’s Leaf Green gel color paste – about 1/2 teaspoon for half a batch of icing. I was worried about how long it might take to get in the mail (because I waited too long: note to self, order all Christmas-related stuff by Dec. 10th), so instead I had to go to three different stores before I found a white sparkling sugar at a specialty store (Executive Chef in Ward Shopping Center). It’s the Dean Jacob’s Sparkling Sprinkles. The ingredients list for the white sprinkles looks vegan, but the other colors in the container (I had to buy it as a set of 4) contain confectioner’s glaze, which can be vegan but sometimes isn’t.
If you are not familiar with Twilight, I like Cleolinda Jones’ Twilight in 15 Minutes. I reviewed the book as “I have all kinds of problems with the characters, the plot, the writing style…and I could barely put it down. Grrf.” Kidlet, she LOVES the books and the movie, and when the idea for Sparkling Vampire Sugar Cookies popped into my head, I knew what I was making for Christmas.
*line taken from the above-mentioned Twilight in 15 Minutes.
March 25, 2008 – December 10, 2008: $126.00 raised through sales of the Mug & French Press Jacket pattern! I sent the donation off to Doctors Without Borders today. If you aren't familiar with Stephanie Pearl McPhee's fundraising arm for DWB – Knitters Without Borders – please check out the info page over on the Yarn Harlot blog. The pattern is still available for free (please look in the left sidebar for the appropriate link); if you choose to buy the pattern (which is more detailed and gives instructions for working it from the sides down instead of from the bottom up), $4.50 of the pattern price will be donated to Doctors Without Borders, and the remaining $1.00 will be used to cover PayPal fees and hosting costs.
If you are here because you read Karen Iwamoto’s article in the Dec. 05 2008 Island Life section of the Honolulu Advertiser, um, hi! Karen did a great job interviewing me (she’s very easy to spill your guts to – good thing I’m not in politics), and Rebecca Breyer, the photographer, did a great job too (and we even small-worlded it and figured out that she used to live in the same town in Wisconsin that one of my friends grew up in, and where I saw snow up close for the first time).
Links!
O’ahu has several yarn shops, and I know that there are shops on the island of Hawai’i (the “Big Island”) and Maui. I’ve been maintaining a list of yarn shops and a list of craft stores that carry yarn; if I’m missing any, please let me know. The list of yarn shops in Hawai’i is also available as a Aloha Knitters (and crocheters and spinners) on Thursday nights at Mocha Java (Ward Shopping Center, 7 – 9pm) Please join the Aloha Knitters Yahoo! Group for the most up-to-date information including when/where for Windward and Leeward meetings. It’s free, open to all ages and skill levels, and it’s fun!
Etsy is a fantastic online marketplace for handcrafts and handcrafters. I have a storefront there where I sell patterns in PDF format (you can also buy them as instant downloads if you use the links on the left sidebar of this page). Occasionally I sell finished items as well; if you really really really want a hat or scarf from one of my patterns but do not knit or crochet, you can check my Etsy Favorites for Etsy sellers who have finished items from my patterns, or use the Alchemy feature to find a crafter for hire. Etsy also has a Shop Local feature (Honolulu!) so you can find items from local crafters, like The Opalescence (handspun yarn and stitch markers) and Acornbud (project bags, stitch markers, and adorable stuffies like Snowball the Cat With a Christmas Hat).
Knitty is a free online magazine, edited by Amy Singer, with patterns, articles, and a forum. The Womb pattern was published in the Winter 2004 issue because Amy has got a sense of humor like mine; if you have any questions please check out the Womb FAQ first.
The Alt Fiber show (curated by the super-talented and always on-the-go Shannon Okey) took place at the Assemble gallery in Cleveland, Ohio, in January 2006.
The hats shown in the article were all knit using the Top-Down Ribbed Beanie Recipe, which you can download for free. It’s easy to customize, and a great way to show off unusual yarns like the handspuns used for two of the hats in the photos.
Mobile Monster Piggy is in the Stitch ‘N Bitch Nation book, edited by Debbie Stoller. You can find it in the craft section of most major bookstores, along with the original Stitch ‘N Bitch, Stitch ‘N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker, and Son of Stitch ‘N Bitch (featuring knit and crochet patterns for men).
The crochet Sushi Pillow pattern is in the book Get Hooked!, edited by Kim Werker. It is also available through many major bookstores.
The Rosetta flower hairclip is a crochet pattern in progress, as are the scarves seen in the photos (yep, there’s a lot of crochet going on in the photos – it’s okay, the yarn muggles generally can’t tell the difference between knit and crochet and ultimately I don’t think it matters. I love both.). Feel free to nudge me into getting those patterns formatted, photographed, and published…but know that I am really, really good at procrastinating.
Interested in learning to knit, crochet, and/or spin? Check out this post for Honolulu.
…and if you still need a reason, please read Page 197, or 10 Reasons To Knit a Sweater in Hawai’i.
