This is from December of 2005

Wow! We have gotten almost a foot of snow! The girls are very happy

I’ve also started a group on Flickr.. if you have pics of your dog in one of my collars, please add it to the pool! I’ve already added some but if you want to show off your dog, that would be the place to do it!

www.flickr.com More in Sew Crazy Dog Lady Fashion Show pool

Baklava

I got this recipe from my International Baking and Pastry Class. My Father in Law is Arabic and he loves this recipe so I’m guessing it’s pretty authentic.

Ingredients:
1 package of Phyllo sheets (comes frozen. I can usually only find Athens brand) Stick it in the fridge overnight to thaw.
5 cups chopped walnuts
1 Tsp. Cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1 lb of butter, unsalted.

For syrup:
1 cup honey
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
½ lemon
1 cinnamon stick

Method:

Take phyllo out of fridge and let it come to room temp while you prep.

Melt butter. If you feel so inclined, skim off the milk solids that float to the top.

Mix together: Walnuts, Cinnamon and Sugar. Set aside.

Lay out your Phyllo on a piece of waxed paper (or parchment paper).
Cover with another sheet of waxed paper and weigh it down with tea towel. (if you work slow, dampen that towel a bit). As you take out sheets of phyllo, cover it back up.. if it dries out, it’ll crumble into nothingness.

Brush melted butter on the bottom of a 9×13 pan.

Lay in one sheet of phyllo. The easiest way is to hold it be the corners of the short end and sort of drape it over the pan. .. like pulling up a sheet on the bed.

Brush phyllo with butter. repeat until you have 12 sheets of phyllo in the pan each brushed with butter.

spread 1/2 of the nut mixture in the pan.

Lay a sheet of phyllo over the nuts, brush with butter (this one will be tricky.. it will try to run away from you.. just hold down one end and brush the other until you’ve got it covered.

Repeat until you have 8 sheets of phyllo, each brushed with butter.

spread the remaining nut mixture in the pan.

(I bet you know what comes next!)

Lay in a sheet of phyllo, and brush with butter… repeat until you have 12 sheets layered but do not brush the last with butter. Brush with water instead. (I just misted it with my water bottle)

carefully score into trianges.. (I did diamonds but that can be tricky).

Bake at 350 for about 1 hour. I put my pan on a cookie sheet so that there is some insulation for the bottom of the pan.

While that is baking, mix together in a sauce pan.

1 cup honey
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water

add 1/2 lemon (just toss in a 1/2 a lemon.. scrub the peel first) and 1 cinnamon stick broken in two.

Simmer for 10 minutes and set aside.

When the baklava is golden brown, take out of the oven. Remove the lemon and the cinnamon from the syrup and pour it immediately over the baklava (another reason for the sheet pan.. it might simmer over!)

Let cool. Follow your score marks to cut the baklava and serve at room temperature. (and for goodness sakes, do not put powdered sugar on it.. I had it served to me once Ice Cold with powdered sugar .. with a side of whipped cream and chocolate syrup.. at an EGYPTIAN restaurant.. I sent it back)

May be wrapped in plastic and foil and frozen

When I took my spinning class at County Wool two months ago, I needed to pick up some fiber to play with. Claudia has Angora Rabbits and her bunnies are in all of her fiber. I brought home some beautifully soft angora blend. The dogs couldn’t get enough of this stuff. I’d find them in my craft room literally DROOLING in front of the spinning wheel.. there were times that I would go in there and almost slip on the puddle in front of the wheel… oy.

It was a dream to spin! but it was only a little bit and I’m a new knitter so I made what I could. A neck cowl like thing .. just a really short wide scarf that I sewed closed to make something I could pull over my head.

I loved it.. really really loved it.

So did Qay.

Witness: the destruction (and I swear I thought I had it up high enough!)

What Momma?

Oh.. was I not supposed to touch that?

Iz so ashamed…

WAIT! Maybe you should have put it away, huh?

Yeah, she’s right.. It fell into her little clutches.. I heard her and her sister playing keep away with something.. I guess it was my first project.

Oh well.. I frogged it.

It’s all curly so it had to have a bath.

It’s currently hanging and drying. It’s a little fuzzy, but I think I can remake it.

Ah.. dogs.

Thanks to the forum funnies on Ravelry

I think I need to put a warning label on my website. 

Warning: Collars by Sew Crazy Dog Lady may cause addiction to style, form and function and fervent fabric shopping.

Whadya Think?

Thanks to Basja’s Mom for sending this fun fabric and this pic!

Are you noticing that there are quite a few martingales showing up here?  Yeah, that’s because people keep asking me for them.  I’ve actually decided “official like” to start offering them.

This weekend, I’ll be working on a pattern so that I can make sure they are consistent in size and quality.  Then Poof! In the store they go.

So I started adding in some premade collars to the store… you know for instant gratification. (there are more to come.. I just haven’t posted them yet)

When I look at the pics at home, they look great! When I look at them at work, well they are kinda.. well.. meh.

I think it’s partly because I had to get new bulbs for my lightbox (don’t ask.. I’m a klutz). And partly because of the grey background. and partly because things look different on my laptop monitor.

What do you think?

I bought a nice sheet of white muslin to try for the background. We’ll see how it goes..

Oh and have you entered yet?