apples, apples, apples

Nothing signifies the change in season more to me than getting apples directly from an orchard. Call me old-fashioned, but it's true. They might be the same apples that the grocery store sells under 'local food', but at least once a year I need to symbolically purchase them directly from the orchard itself to kick off my own fall festivities. 

I don't even need to pick them myself. I just need to smell the apples, the cider and to see all of the apple goodness in one place. 
 

A few sunflowers never hurt, either. 

Don't forget to leave a comment on this post for your chance to win the Pyrex Butterfly Gold Butter Dish above! The giveaway ends tonight, October 24 at 23:59 EST. 

In the meantime, I have some apples that need my attention. 

Sugar Cookies for Fall

I had a hard time getting into Fall when the temperatures were still reaching 80 even a week ago. Yesterday, after waking up to 50 degrees, I dug my sweaters and slippers out of hiding; autumnal weather has certainly arrived. 

And with cooler weather, baking season also kicks off! I think sometimes Christmas gets all of the glory for cookie season. I say start early... everyone likes a little (or giant) cookie to go with their hot apple cider in chilly weather.

I wanted to test out the neat leaf cookie cutter I found earlier in the year, plus I had a friend visiting, but really do you ever need an excuse to bake cookies?

If you want to make your own sugar cookie cutouts, here's a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens. I used a different one that called for both shortening and butter. (The BHG recipe only calls for butter.) In the end, I simply substituded even more butter for the shortening, so my result was very similar to the BHG recipe. 

Icing of course is optional, but with the leaves turning beautiful shades outside, I didn't think the cookies needed much decorating. 

 
Speaking of butter... don't forget to enter the Everything's Better with a Butter Dish Giveaway if you haven't already!

Everything's Better with a Butterdish and a Happy One-Year Blogiversary!

When I started this blog one year ago, I had no idea how much fun I'd have with it. Despite this being one of the most stressful, insanely difficult years of my life (and believe me, I've had some doozies in these past few decades...) this blog has been a constant source of fun, inspiration and community for the past 12 months. 

I've always liked the phrase in my blog header: 'dream, inspire, create'. I don't know when I first started using it as a life mantra -- I think it may have been when the Sailor bought me an iPod mini (remember those?) and I wanted my name and a quote engraved on the back of it. Since then, I have always carried those three words with me in some form or another. 

You can interpret the three words any way you like, but here's how I tend to think of them: 

DREAM: In college, a professor once told us to make a list of goals -- both short-term and long-term -- things that seemed attainable in days, weeks, months, even years. Then he told us to add a third column of 'dreams' -- the stuff that seemed completely impossible -- even absurd. As I mentioned in this post, a decade after college, I was astounded to realize that nearly everything that I wrote in my dream column had actually happened. It wasn't small stuff either -- the list included huge events that I dreamed about but never thought would actually happen: moving overseas, working for a magazine. Since then, I continue to dream, daily. Life often surprises us when we let it. Never stop dreaming. 

INSPIRE: I like to look for inspiration in ordinary things -- whether it's knitting needles, or by simply watching the weather. I started this blog knowing that I needed to share that same inspiration. Hopefully people can take a little of that inspiration with them after they visit here!

CREATE: I feel a little lost if I don't create something every day. I write more about that here, but it could be something as simple as making soup from scratch, or completing one row on a crochet project.  

Maybe some of you are dreaming of adding to your vintage Pyrex collection? 

If so, this could be your chance! 

To celebrate my First Year Blogiversary*, 

I'm giving away a Vintage Pyrex Butterfly Gold Butter Dish.  

If you missed the Great Gravy Boat Giveaway and didn't win, this could be your day!

All you have to do is leave a comment below and you're automatically entered to win the butter dish. I'll draw the winner randomly and I will ship worldwide, because I believe everyone deserves a chance to own a piece of precious Pyrex. 

So take a chance! Leave a comment below -- this time with which piece of Pyrex you need to complete your 'collection'. (If you're not collecting, or you're new to this Pyrex craze, you're welcome too! Just leave a comment and say hello.)

Giveaway closes at 23:59 EST October 24, 2013. Winner will be chosen at random and announced on this blog on October 25, 2013. No purchase necessary. The winner has two weeks from the date of the announcement to contact me for their prize. If I don't hear from the winner within the two weeks, they forfeit their prize and I will draw another name at random. Void where prohibited by law. 

* My official blogiversary is October 18th, but I was so excited to celebrate, I had to post this early.  

*** THIS GIVEWAY IS NOW CLOSED. SEE THE WINNER HERE. *** 

Bohemian Bag

I've already established that I usually have more than one project going when it comes to fiber fun. No matter what else I'm working on however, I always like to have a project with a simple repeat pattern going -- something I can do when friends come to visit, or while I'm watching TV in the evening. 

The above shawl, while simple, has such tiny stitches and some serious increases and decreases every few rows. I didn't want to repeat the mistake I made with it over the summer, so I'm working on it when I can focus (although I'm happy to report that there are 10 pattern repeats to make the big shawl -- I just finished #8. Hallelujah. I don't think I've ever worked on any knitting project as long as this one.) 

It's still 80 degrees here during the day, so I didn't really want to start something big like a blanket yet -- I'll save that for wintry, icy days when I need an extra layer on my lap to keep me warm. 

Instead, I scoured through my magazine stack and found this pattern for a shell crochet bag in Vogue Knitting Crochet 2012. (I know, I know, I already made this crochet bobble bag over the summer. But I've also already established that I love bags. Let me have my fun.) 

This thing doesn't look that big, but it can hold a ton of stuff. 

 

I plan to use it as a market bag. Now that it's finished, I can focus on finding a local apple orchard. It may still be warm outside, but I hear temperatures are supposed to drop next week. That means homemade applesauce, apple pie and dehydrated apples for snacking will all be calling my name.

And, if I'm still working on the shawl by that point, at least I'll have a cute crocheted bag to carry my project around town.

PS: Bag handles were thrifted. Wooden handles can be a little pricey, so I like to keep a look out for them at thrift stores. Sometimes perfectly good handles are attached to not-so-nice handbags that should never have made it as far as the thrift store. But at least the handles are useable!

 

The Incredible Itch...

Insanabile Cacoethes Scribendi 

- Juvenal

OR, simply... 

The Incredible Itch to Write

I'm working on a few things this week that I'll hopefully be able to share on the blog later. In the meantime, let's all raise a glass to the inventor of the cut and paste feature on the computer. While I learned to type on a vintage contraption like the typewriter above, I'm not sure I would be as prolific or productive if I had to type out everything on one today.

Stay tuned... later this week I'll be announcing another giveaway, as well as a few other fun things! In the meantime, I need to scratch an itch... Thankfully I don't have to change any typewriter ribbon.