Calories don’t count during the holidays, right?  I took that idea and ran with it this year.

What we have here are 2 batches of Pioneer Woman’s world famous cinnamon rolls.  Only 2 batches!  Can you believe that?  Anyway, I made these up a couple of weeks ago and stuck them in the freezer in their dough stage.  Last weekend I pulled them out and let them thaw and rise on the counter and then I had a baking and frosting marathon.  I have to tell you, these have not been over-hyped.  They are THE BEST cinnamon rolls I have ever made.  I love them and will make them regularly from now on.

And then I delivered them to my colleagues and friends so they too could know the joy of a truly fabulous cinnamon roll.  I hope they bring happiness and relaxation to everyone (I saved a pan for my family – now I don’t have to worry about breakfast on Christmas!).

Happy Holidays.

You know I love to bake. The downside of baking is having the baked goods in the house. And eating said baked goods! Travis is always good for helping to eat them, but especially after last week in Indianapolis (what is with conferences? I think they feed you lots so you don’t fall asleep!) I should be cutting back and watching my calorie intake. Yeah, so I went ahead and made cinnamon rolls…

Clearly I hate myself. Ok, not really, but talk about calories. I guess the only way to enjoy the treats and still be able to fit into my clothes is to spend some extra time at the gym. Ah, the price I pay for sugar!

This recipe is from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. It’s a simple recipe that in the grand scheme of things isn’t that fattening. It has 1/3 cup of butter, uses buttermilk, and the filling is cinnamon and sugar without additional butter. The buttermilk makes for a nice tender dough, plus adds a bit to the flavor. The other thing you could do to cut down on the inches to the hips is cut down on the frosting, but that doesn’t work around here. Travis actually wishes there was more frosting! My teeth hurt just thinking about it.

I didn’t do any crafting this weekend aside from cutting out the pieces for a top. A summer top. And since it’s getting ready to snow here, I think I have enough time to work on it this weekend. Can someone in the know please let me know when we might expect summer to show up in Wyoming? Assuming summer will arrive eventually, I also want to work on the second skirt. And then I need to start thinking about a quilt for my brother and his girlfriend. So many crafting projects, and life keeps getting in the way. This week marks the beginning of summer hours at the University – 7:30 to 4:30, which sucks in the morning, but makes for a little extra time in the evenings. Here’s hoping I can fit some crafting into that time.

Steph

Hello all my long-neglected blog friends. I’ve decided to chalk 2007 up as a bust and move on to 2008 without guilt. My blogging last year seriously sucked. Probably because a lot of things in my life seriously sucked, but you know – there were a lot of good things too. I think I focused too much on the bad things and not enough on the things I still had in my life that I should have been thankful for. So, in 2008 I’m moving on and keeping a positive mindset about life and everything that it holds. I haven’t stopped knitting, baking, and sewing… the spinning hasn’t been very steady, but I hope to make some time for that too, and I have big plans for the projects I want to conquer this year.

I’ve been working on a new pair of socks with an entirely new construction method.

This is the Bartholomew’s Tantalizing Socks from New Pathways for Sock Knitters by Cat Bordhi in Socks that Rock (my first time ever using STR!). I’m knitting it using magic loop and I have to tell you, I was skeptical, but the construction is brilliant. I’m at the heel on the second sock, so I’ll have some modeled photos when the pair is done.

I’ve also been baking … a lot. My latest attempt is a new recipe for cinnamon rolls.

I love that these are large rolls – only 2 across and 4 down in a 9×13 pan. I haven’t tried them yet, but I’ll let you know what I think after breakfast tomorrow.

I finally got a Ravelry account, and I have these socks put in, but I need to spend some time setting it up. Any of you with accounts have any tips for the best way to get everything input? It seems like a daunting task. Oh, and there’s no way I’m going to be able to catch up on all my blog reading, so I’m starting that from scratch today too. I hope I still have some readers and I can’t wait to see what everyone has been up to. Happy New Year.

Besides washing the fleece this weekend, I also baked a lot. I’m not sure what got into me, but I was on a baking kick. Friday night I made cinnamon rolls

And I sat out at the barn and knit on the Noni bag while Travis shod some horses. Our horses were less than enthused with the company

Saturday I made oatmeal raisin cookies (but forgot to take pictures – sorry, but they look just like oatmeal raisin cookies). Monday I got a new cookbook (thanks, Bakerina, for the suggestion – it’s a great cookbook!) and Tuesday morning made scones.

Bakerina made scones for us in Estes Park and I have to tell you that they were by far the best scones I’ve ever had. She recommended this cookbook and while the scones I made weren’t as good as her’s, they were the best I’ve ever made. There may be hope for me yet.

And finally, on Tuesday I made an apple pie.

Because really, what’s the 4th of July without apple pie? This was the best applie pie I’ve ever made too. This cookbook is already my favorite and I’ve only had it a couple of days.

Let’s see, what else… Oh, I worked on Butterfly. I finished the first repeat on chart B (but I only have about 8 inches total)! I’ll take a picture this week after I get a bit more done.

And spinning! Look at my finished yarn

I’m really happy with this skein. Most of it is 3-ply, but I ran out of the red towards the end and finished up with the remaining two singles. There is still room for lots of improvement, but I really think I’m getting better. The singles were much more even and the yarn seems to be quite usable.