The dream is over

Baking, baking, brain breaking

Caitlin Jane — Thu, 17 May 2012 23:50:57 +0000

So, first off, which one of you smarties can tell me the diff between brioche and challah? The recipes I’ve read for either seem pretty much interchangeable. Of course I know I must be wrong but…

I was tasked with finding a recipe for and making brioche hamburger buns and mini baguettes. Sounds easy, I guess, if you’re some kind of Buffy-Jo Bakesalot, which I’m not. Sure, I can make banana bread and cake and cookies til the cows come home but anything involving yeast? GTFO. Had to do it though, had to suck up my fears and do it.

Miracles of miracles, they came out pretty well. I mean, they taste great and the crumb is super soft and spongy and they smell like delicious. Shannon is going to eat them all before bed with jam.

Seriously, I’m pretty proud of these guys. Baguette dough? Total disaster that is getting tossed before bed. I’m also making no-knead bread (will be shaped into buns, could work!) but that’s for tomorrow. All this is everything to do with my future.

Also I made this quilt top that I love. Once it’s actually quilted? Very heavy, very metal, very much the other part of my future.

Little finger

Caitlin Jane — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:45:49 +0000

Lego Harry Potter glasses fit my pinky finger perfectly.

Grey, green, yellow

Caitlin Jane — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:45:11 +0000

Top done, back done, everything else not done.

Great manicure?

Caitlin Jane — Sun, 13 May 2012 22:51:50 +0000

Or greatest manicure? This has everything I love about nail polish and I hope it lasts more than 24 hours. I’ll be avoiding dish-doing for the next 24 hours. The yellow is Maybelline Color Show in Fierce n Tangy (cheap stuff, got it at WM) and the glitter is Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Jewel Topcoat in Multi-Faceted. It’s seriously the best glitter I have, I love it. There are black, silver and iridescent hexies and tiny, smaller than grains of salt, clear sparkles. It’s amazing and reasonably priced, i got mine at Rexall on sale for $4.99. Topcoat to smooth it all out is Seche Vite, as always.

Birthday roundup

Caitlin Jane — Sun, 13 May 2012 16:44:45 +0000

I know I promised to blog more often but it’s not every week one turns 40. Yes, 40. It’s slowly sinking in, the horror of it. Here is the face of 40.

It’s ok, I had such an amazing week so full of love and support I can’t complain. It technically started on Tuesday when I took Go to St.Catharines to hang with my super awesome parents. My mom had asked what special birthday supper I wanted and I requested bouillabaisse. I’m sure her heart sank and she yearned for the days when I asked for hotdogs. It turned out so well and I hope she feels it was worth the effort. Possibly the best meal I’ve had this year! And wine! Wine, wine, wine, so good. The next day we went shopping stateside and that’s always a treat too, despite the disappointing nail polish situation.

I worked Thursday and Friday (my actual birthday, poorly planned I guess), and Shannon took me and my boss out for sushi. That was fun, especially taking T out to celebrate. Shannon had already given me my beautiful ring, made from one of my wisdom teeth that had been extracted 12 years ago.

I love it.

Yesterday my best friend and quilting mentor, Libs, took me out for birthday pho and gave me the most beautiful gift, a quilted pillow sham.

See that? My initials? I’m here to tell you that Libs is a genius. Further proof, the card she made me. I’m definitely ripping off this alphabet for future sewing projects.

Thank you Mum and Dad, Shannon, Libs, Therasa and all the love on Facebook for making this the greatest birthday yet!

Undies.

Caitlin Jane — Sun, 06 May 2012 21:40:03 +0000

Picked up this pattern at Value Village today for 69 cents. My plan is to use old t shirts to make underwear with. In a perfect world it will be a cinch.

Sewing, sewing, gone

Caitlin Jane — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:41:24 +0000

This is what my sewing table looks like. Looked like. I did tidy it up, sort of, after I took this.

I’m working on so many things at once and it does get a little chaotic at times. Mostly I’m in the plotting and scheming portion of the show. This involves pulling out stacks of fabric, rooting through bags of scraps and shoveling it all over the place. Right now I’m very into solids. I know that will pass so I’m not parting with any prints yet.

Here is my next project.

And the one after that.

It seems I need to get it together on what instagram filters I use so all my pictures match. I’ll get right on that, yep.

The heel problem

Caitlin Jane — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:40:30 +0000

I have never worn these out despite the fact that they fit well, are reasonably comfortable and I can pretty much walk in them. I just don’t trust myself, wearing these means I’m out doing something, maybe celebrating and that often means a drink or two and that would be when I don’t think I can manage walking in 5 inch wedges. I am almost 5’10″ and I’ve never really felt the need to be taller.

Practice wearing them reminds me that I can’t see myself in the bathroom mirror any longer.

Let’s talk about nail polish

Caitlin Jane — Thu, 03 May 2012 19:27:06 +0000

Ok, so it might seem to some people that I have a slight, a teeny tiny almost unnoticeable obsession with nail polish. It’s not something I’m proud of and I thought that coming clean in a public way might help. To be totally honest, I don’t really know how this happened, one day I had maybe a dozen bottles and then the next…this.

That is pretty much all of them. I know it looks like a lot, but when you break it down, it’s pretty obvious that I’d better stop at Shopper’s on my way out tonight just to check to see if there is anything new or on sale. Or both.

All my colours laid out:

Pretty, huh? All those blues and I don’t even like blue on my nails. Here are all the glitters, base and top coats, black, grey and white:

I put the zombie finger puppets on my most used base and top coats. If you ever need top coat, get Seche Vite, it is the best. Smells awful but holy man is it shiny. Also, if you notice I have two bottles of Essie, Shine of the Times. It is the very best glitter in the universe, I use it more than any other polish I own and I dread the day when they stop making it.

Help?

Beginnings

Caitlin Jane — Tue, 01 May 2012 21:14:02 +0000

I mentioned it on twitter the other day and I will say it here too: things are changing for me. In a (hopefully) good way. I’m growing, I guess. It’s too early to say anything publicly but I’m excited and happy and I feel like my future holds more than loneliness and misery.

I went to a craft show last weekend and wound up walking home afterwards. It was a good walking day, cool and damp, and I popped into lots of interesting gift stores on Bloor that I’d never seen before. I was inspired by the woman running one store who admired my nails and then told me they don’t really carry baby gifts even though people ask for them. By the time I got home I’d made my mind up, to make half a dozen baby quilts to bring to her and see if she would take them on consignment. This is number 3.

The black and white gingham will be the back, the red and white spots will be binding. I need batting and a trip to my mom’s next week will hopefully take care of that.

I promise to blog more. I got a camera and I’m feeling more positive right now.