sourdough french toast

i love french toast. anyone who knows me well, knows that i must try every french toast i come across. oh, and then re-try it. because i love it.

my favorite way of making french toast is very simple, and often you get to use up the last couple pieces of bread that otherwise might get thrown away...in my case, I used the sourdough bread I make several times a week.

eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg
all wisked up in a low bowl - dip or soak your bread in it.

the longer you soak, the tastier the french toast will be, but your bread may fall apart if it is too full of mixture, and might take a long time to fully cook through. try it out, you will find the right amount for you. i set them in for a few minutes on each side, then they hop in to a preheated pan or griddle for cooking. i like medium heat for french toast because i don't like burnt outsides.

i like cutting my french toast up into bite size pieces, toss in some powdered sugar and my bramble berry preserves that i made last fall from my berry bushes.

since it is sugaring season, its only fair to use boatloads of fresh maple syrup if you can get it!
i'm lucky to have some very sweet neighbors in the business for many generations - if you have not hit a sugaring house, you are missing out.

now again this french toast recipe could be changed to kahlua, or chocolate chip & coconut - or apples & cinnamon....you get the drift. mix it up, i do all the time, i love french toast. especially on sunday mornings.

reupholstering vanity - chair that is.

my dear gram gave me this chair years ago - and as you can see, the seat & fabric have seen better days. It was a part of her vanity set as a girl, so it is quite important to me, and took me a while (years) to find a fabric worthy of replacing it.

i found this fabric on my last trip to NYC. Mostly because i can't visit NYC and NOT shop the garment district, luckily. this bit of pretty was in a remnant bin right at the entrance, under a pile of crazy fabrics i had positively no interest in. i scoured that whole store, and as i was getting ready to leave, caught it out of the corner of my eye. i knew what it was for the instant i laid eyes on it.


i'm so pleased with how it came out. if you have never re-upholstered, do not be afraid, it is easy! google it as a how-to, you will find a million ways to do it. i was able to salvage the seat padding and tiny little tacks the original furniture maker used, which made me quite happy. One day i will re-finish the wood as well, but until i get one of my woodworking friends to assess the inlay on the back rest, i won't touch it.

now i'm thinking a gorgeous little purse with the leftover fabric scraps....

POISE - Illlustration Friday

This week's Illustration Friday theme is Poise - I can think of no better creatures than owls that reflect this theme best, on so very many levels.
This owl was originally drawn in ink, then scanned and digitally colored.
Happy, Happy Friday.

puddle ducks for spring!

Mud, rain, ducks, sprouting plants all about. I'm in love with Spring. To commemorate my happiness during this most hopeful of seasons and in tribute to one of my favorite authors, Beatrix Potter, I've designed & created a very cute leetle French puddle duck hand knit toy.


This particular series of ducks are very special! This yarn is a pure 100% cotton bouclé yarn from France - in the softest sweetest spring colors. Each puddle duck averages 12" wingspan, and also 12" from head to webbed toe. I use multiple strands of yarn to knit each duck, then stuff them with more of the same matching yarn... 100% cotton toys make me happy! These techniques allow for each duck to feel like soft terrycloth.

Each duck is a very limited edition, one-of-a-kind hand knit toy with vintage yarns- once each yarn(color) is gone, it is gone. If I cannot meet your first color choice, I will be in touch for a second choice. Every single toy is handmade by me here in Vermont.

So far I've made one color puddle ducks and two-color puddle ducks.
The colors currently available are butter yellow & mint green, or all butter yellow, or all mint green. Contact me if you would like a custom color/size.


My leetle French Puddle Ducks can be bought for $50 each, with shipping included to anywhere in the US. Need yours in time for Easter Basket delivery? Please be sure to order by April 1st so I can whip it up for you in plenty of time.

Color options

Butter Yellow $50.00 Mint green $50.00 Butter yellow & Mint green $50.00

Illustration Friday - Subtract

I often subtract faces from the dolls and drawings I make - I like for others to be able to color, draw or imagine exactly what they wish from my drawings too.


the dollies print

fiddlehead soup recipe

I'm a seasonal food person for sure, and have a serious penchant for fiddleheads in spring.
fiddlehead soup. it is still too cold here for the fiddleheads, but I keep one serving frozen from last season just for this recipe, when I need a serious dose of spring memories. like last week.

this is a simple recipe, I make it to taste, not by measurements, so try it out and have fun!
fiddleheads frozen, thawed (fresh works too, be sure to boil to soft consistency)
milk, cream or substitute
romano cheese
garlic, chopped/diced - if you dont care for chunks, garlic powder does the trick too.
pinch of salt



Directions: cook it all up, dont get it boiling, there is milk in there :) then eat it.

this is also an amazing sauce to put over pasta - the ferns uncoil to make little green noodles.
I'm sure you could also puree this whole mix to make baby food or insanely awesome bread dip.

fiddleheads are the delicious edible fern coils that have a short spring season. I'm very lucky to know a couple folks here in southern Vermont who hook me up so I'm not foraging high and low for them, all I need to do is grab a bag and start prepping. Lots of prepping. but these little green guys are fresh only a few weeks out of the year, so enjoy it! Trim off the ends of each fern, pluck /rinse away any debris. It is easiest to think of fiddleheads in terms of pasta - in order to get them to edible state, you need to soften, at the very least par boil them to freeze for later. Oh, and salt the hell out of them. Boiling takes the bitterness and the extra brown stuff off. The water looks um, well, gross when you're getting close to done - I like my fiddleheads "al dente" in pasta terms....others like mushy and soft - I get you! my favorite recipe with fiddleheads include sliced oyster mushrooms, garlic, some good butter, white wine and a saute pan. thats it.


PS - if you want to go foraging for your own, that is awesome! keep check on how many you forage on any one plant, 3 heads max on a plant or you may do damage to the future health of the ferns.

NEW TOY: handknit mermaid art doll

Madame Mermaid is 100% hand knit and felted wool -
Her hair has been hand dyed and hand spun by me on my spinning wheel.
This doll has a lots of hair - I like being sure every doll I make has tons!

This Mermaid art doll comes with a 100% wool, free form crocheted mermaid tail, a 100% wool skirt to match her hair, glass bead bathing top, and a little seaweed boa.


She also has a hand decorated box she travels in - you can check her out in person at Manchester Hot Glass studio & Gallery starting this weekend - or feel free to email me for more details on the Mermaid, or how to get a doll made of your very own!

Vase Sale at Manchester Hot Glass

Large or small, all in-stock flower vases 25% off!
In honor of winter fading slowly away, from now through April 12th 2009,
mention this post at Manchester Hot Glass Studio & Gallery,
and SAVE 25% off all flower vases in stock in the shop!
From Marbled to Flat bud vases for a few stems or web vases for huge bouquets,
to the luminous cylinder vases or striking etherial ones,
he has the right color, size and shape in stock for you and for gifts!

my old but new new to me rocking chair

perfect height for my spinning wheel too!

rigged up snap peas

well, they are nicely on their way to the ceiling of my kitchen island...wish them luck!

Illustration Friday - legendary

i positively LOVE this week's theme, legendary! mostly because i love to read folk tales, legends, and stories passed down to us from well beyond our years.... much of my personal illustration reflects little worlds i've built up in my mind from every sweet and scary tale i've read. this particular illustration i call mountain village - a sleepy little place full of adventure potential for a folk character to run a muck, or save the day!

amish friendship bread

today was my first baking day of amish friendship bread - there is a 10-day cycle it goes through - see the recipe cards I made for you to download & print out if you wish...

I really enjoy recipes that give latitude - keep the basic bones of this, but flair it up as you wish. our friends joe & luci who passed us our first amish friendship bread starter add gorgeous fruits and spice or nut blends that will drop your jaw. vanilla pudding mix makes a nice addition too! with all the care you give to your bread, you will find the best part is the comradeship you feel. it is nice to know that 10 days from now, each friend I passed a starter of this bread, will be making theirs as I am making mine... and luci & joe will be too!

the time and work going into your amish friendship bread is positively worth it, and of course, you get to connect with a couple friends a week in so many ways - which, can't we all use a little more of?

PS - everyone remind drew that he needs to make me some big ole glass bowls! lets just say my glass blender was involved in this recipe, as there is only one non metal bowl in my house - and taking up residence is our sourdough bread starter! I happily liken this to another case of the glassmaker's wife, similar to the shoemaker's children... :)

NEW designs on cafepress!

I've been working on these designs for a month or so now - starting with my dear sister's request of a gardening tshirt. Most are combinations of my illustration and text - Take a gander over at my place on cafepress, I'd love to know your thoughts!

sunderland sourdough

water, flour, glass jar and a little bit of patience. add some commercial yeast to make life easier.
the key to successful sourdough is the care of your starter! like anything else, needs to be fed and cared for. our current starter is a month or so old, and we have made a few great sourdoughs, and plan to keep up our starter for many more!




absolutely everyone who makes sourdough does something different in one way or another - my advice is to google a bit on sourdough starters, but really, just try it out - trial and error sometimes brings out better results than following someone else's directions to a T - every sourdough starter is one of a kind.

intricate - illustration friday

verbal teardrops...for illustration friday's theme intricate! hand drawn in ink, then digitally colored. i love illustrating quotes.

NEW recycled hand knit rag toys!

They are made up of recycled cotton flannel strips, ripped and tied into yarn, then knit by hand and stuffed with more recycled cotton flannel. Every toy is one of a kind, particularly because I do not use patterns (but I am working on making them up for a knitting pattern book one day!)


I like to think my place is like a garden for the toys, starting out as something entirely new from older times- a place to come to germinate, grow and get ready to go on their next adventure!
These creatures are the bunny rabbit, the birdy duck, and the giraffe.
I'm certain to try out a butterfly next. Also planning to make other scrap fabric yarn toys....
how about 100% recycled silk, or funky upholstery?? yummy.


hit up my shop for more details and lots of photos!

illustration sneek peek

just a taste of a few new original ink illustrations, coming soon!