Date Cake

I’m not really sure how old this recipe may be, but I do know it’s in a dessert cookbook given to my parents as a wedding gift in 1964. The book contains recipes that were submitted by home economics teachers. Who knows how many treasured recipe boxes it sat in before it found its way into print?

This is a cake my mom baked at least a few times a year as I was growing up. She liked it because you can make a few changes to the recipe and decrease the guilt factor. Since hitting middle age a few years ago, it’s become clear to me that my metabolism needs a lifestyle change. But I’m not quite ready to give up dessert, especially anything chocolate. Though I enjoy chocolate cake with butter cream frosting or a rich, fudgy brownie, this cake will satisfy my cravings just as easily.

My birthday was last weekend, and this is the cake I wanted to celebrate with. The way the recipe appears below is mostly the way it was originally written (except my mom substituted oil for shortning years ago). To make it a bit healthier I diced whole dates rather than using the sugar-coated, pre-diced dates in a box. Dates don’t need added sugar. Instead of white sugar I prefer to use natural cane sugar. Not all the nutrients are processed out of it, and it helps add a deeper caramel flavor to the cake. Half of the flour was whole wheat. For those trying to avoid gluten, brown rice, or other whole grain flours could probably replace the wheat flour. (If anyone tries it, let me know how the cake turns out.) This cake does have a topping and the ingredients are found in the directions. I used demerara sugar and my chocolate chips of choice are 60% cocoa. My mom isn’t a big chocolate lover, so she will occasionally use milk chocolate chips, but she’s just as likely to put carob on it instead.

If pressed to make a comparison I would say this cake tastes a lot like England’s sticky-toffee pudding, with chocolate instead of spices. It’s dense, moist and most definitely yummy. A small piece is satisfying and best of all, you don’t feel like you’re eating something (somewhat) healthy.

1 c. Dates

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 ½ c. Boiling Water

1 ¼ c. Sugar

½ c. Oil (Canola is fine)

2 Eggs

2 c. All-Purpose Flour

¾ tsp. Baking Soda

¾ tsp. Salt

Pour boiling water over soda and dates. Allow mixture to cool. Combine oil and sugar. Add the eggs and blend in cooled date mixture. Sift flour, soda and salt. Combine with liquid ingredients. Pour into a prepared 9” x 13” pan. Sprinkle cake batter with 1 c. chocolate chips, ½ c. brown sugar and ½ c. pecans. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

For those into seasonal cooking you will probably notice whole dates are more readily available late summer and into fall. This is a cake I usually make in the fall and winter. This year my birthday fell on the first day of fall, so it felt right to make it part of two transitional occasions. But you have my permission to make it just because you want some cake.

The Project Queen

My mom was nice enough to scan and email me the book cover where this recipe came from.

Obviously, it's been well loved. I looked through it a lot as a kid.

What kid wouldn't appreciate a dessert cookbook? 



Taking a Spin

The spinning wheel pictured above is one of the nicest gifts my father has ever given me.

He and my mom have a neighbor who does spinning & weaving. A few years ago, my dad was getting serious about woodworking again. He thought making a working copy of his neighbor’s spinning wheel would be an interesting challenge. It’s made of black walnut, and it took him 3 days to carve, turn and assemble all the parts. (He’s retired so spending an entire day on a project is not a problem for him.)

After completion it was displayed it for a few years in the great room of my parents’ house. Considering the hours he invested in it, Dad certainly deserved to enjoy the appreciation of visitors who came by. Naturally, the first time I saw it, I didn’t just admire his wheel, I coveted it.

Many knitters and crocheters eventually want to learn how to spin their own yarn. (A few of us also fantasize about owning a farm with some fiber-makers like sheep, alpacas and angora bunnies.) Learning to spin has been on my bucket list for many years, since I learned to knit when I was 19. Marina, the lady who taught me to knit, was from Bolivia. She learned knitting and spinning from the Incas who lived in her community when she was a girl. Along with knitting lessons, Marina attempted to teach me spinning on a spindle. While the knitting was progressing nicely, the spinning lessons were a bust. Apparently, it wasn’t a skill I was ready to master yet.

Spinning with a spindle is an inexpensive way to begin learning the craft, and less complicated than using a wheel. So I may still get started that way. Still, I’m really excited to have the spinning wheel. They can be a bit expensive to purchase, and this one is very special because my father made it. It is an heirloom I can pass on. Last year when I visited my parents, I didn’t notice my dad no longer had it in the great room. I actually hadn’t thought about it in a while. Imagine my pleasure when he asked me if I wanted to take it home. I wasn’t tremendously surprised however. Though my dad gets involved in some very challenging projects, he does have a practical side. Neither he nor my mom work in the fiber crafts. He had enjoyed making and displaying his wheel for a while, and it was time to pass it on to someone was interested in putting it to work.

Right now my parents and I live 4 states away. I made the trip with my younger daughter who had just graduated from high school. She was interested in attending college in their state and was living with them to establish residency (and to get a taste of being away from our home.) She was bringing her belongings with her, so we drove. I was facing a 2-day drive back home by myself. Taking the spinning wheel with me made the trip special and was a fair trade as far as I’m concerned. Now, I need to quit admiring it and get busy taking some spinning classes. Who knows? Perhaps someday that farm with the fuzzy yarn makers can be crossed off my list too.

The Project Queen

Wild Hares

No, those aren’t a pair of strange, mutant bunnies on my lawn. They are bunny slippers I made for a co-worker and finished this past week.

You might be wondering why she wanted bunny slippers. It’s because she saw a purple pair I sometimes wear when I’m working in the faculty workroom. A few years ago, I made 5 pairs of them for my 2 daughters, 2 nieces and myself.

They are a fun project and can be done in a few days if you’re really dedicated. If you’re looking for a cute project for holiday gifts, I recommend these. The original pattern comes from the Stitch and Bitch Crochet The Happy Hooker book and makes a pink or gray, slip-on style bunny. When I made the first 5 pairs, I modified them a bit by making pull-on slippers. I wanted to add bunny tails to the heels. I also used different yarns and colors than suggested.

The latest pair was made with Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool in dark brown, for the bottoms of the slippers, and Paton’s Divine (acrylic and mohair blend) in Deep Earth for the uppers and ears. The original pattern called for 2 yarns crocheted together, 1 wool and one 1 mohair blend. The pieces are designed a bit bigger because the slippers are felted. I was only planning to felt the bottoms, so I needed to decrease the other pieces so my recipient would have snug-fitting bunnies. I also opted to make the bunny ears a bit smaller. A pair of dainty, mini-rex bunnies seemed to suit her personality.

To finish the bunny faces I used iridescent glass buttons for the eyes and bulky pink yarn to embroider a nose. For previous pairs I used large crystal beads for the eyes and pink felt triangles for the nose. The tails are chenille pom poms from the store, but they could certainly be made from scrap yarn and the pom pom tools that are cropping up again. (Making pom poms is apparently becoming popular again. They were actually the first yarn craft I learned as a kid in the 1970s.)

For the more adventurous crocheter, the original pattern can be a good launching point to create different animal slippers. Pay attention to the recommended gage on your chosen yarn, and you should be able to make slippers for both small and big people. Since I have plenty of the brown wool left I might make a pair of growly grizzly bears for my husband.

The Project Queen

Old Glory

Even when I already have a few projects going, I tend to work another one into my schedule. One that is only going to take me an hour, maybe two, or so I think.

Since I work at a school, opportunities for these “fast” projects pop up at least a couple of times a year. They are usually for a spirit day. To remember 9-11 this year we had a patriotic day. I have some red, white and blue items in my closet, but for some reason I conveniently forgot them. I wanted a t-shirt with a rhinestone US flag and an appropriate phrase, something all-purpose so I could use it for other occasions, such as Veterans Day. (My husband was a Sea Bee in the Navy.)

I already had a red t-shirt for another project but ended up not needing it. With an iron-on rhinestone flag and some letters I would have my spirit shirt in about an hour. Turned out my simple project wasn’t going to be so easy. I had looked at rhinestone flags on the internet, but there wasn’t enough time to order one. I live in an area where a couple of craft and hobby stores are within reasonable distance. I picked one and crossed my fingers. Drat! They had some rhinestone iron-ons, but no flags.

Sometimes, you just want what you want. On those occasions, I have a back-up plan. I start roaming the store looking for inspiration and a suitable substitute. It actually didn’t take me long to find a possibility. When looking for “Plan B” never overlook end-caps and main isle displays (otherwise known as the race track). Since I was looking for rhinestones (other than the individual iron-on stones) a convenient main isle display quickly caught my attention. It held scrapbooking rhinestone stickers, some as single peel-offs and others in a 2-stone-deep, yard-long strip called “Bling on a Roll”. In case you’re wondering the brand is called “Recollections”. The “Bling on a Roll” had definite flag-making possibilities. And best of all, this lovely display was 50% off.

To make sure I had enough to complete my flag, I bought 1 pkg. of blue .9mm stones, and 2 each of white and red. I also picked up a package of gold glitter script letters for my phrase.

On my way home, I started planning the actual execution and taking a mental inventory of glues I had in my stash. Though the stones came on an adhesive, I didn’t trust it for long-term hold on a t-shirt that I would want to wash occasionally. I thought my fabric glue was on the shelf in my studio closet, but didn’t find it. However, I did encounter the bottle of Mod Podge. It can be very versatile, so I grabbed it.

Before gluing anything to the shirt, all the flag pieces were cut and laid out on the front to determine placement. I started with the “Stars” corner. My rhinestone flag is an exact representation. To determine how many blue rhinestones I wanted in a strip I studied a picture of the flag. There are 6 stars in 5 rows and 5 stars in 4 rows. The six star rows begin and end the pattern. I cut 13 single stone strips each with 13 stones. The 2 top and bottom rows of strips are solid blue. To make the stars, starting with row 3, I removed every other blue stone from the adhesive and replaced them with white. (b, w, b, w, b, w, b, w, b, w, b, w, b). The 4^th row started with 2 blue stones, then every other was removed. The stripes were kept 2 stones deep. I decided to make the top 7 stripes 26 stones long. The 6 bottom stripes are 39 stones long.

It took a bit of shifting to make sure the design was centered from side to side. The trickier part was making sure the image was close enough to the neckline. When creating designs for t-shirts it’s better to place within a few inches of the neck. If the image is centered between the neck and hem, it will be too low when the garment is worn. After I was satisfied with placement, I used a pencil to mark the bottom red stripe. I started gluing and final placement of the flag with the bottom stripe and worked my way up. Before actually gluing the stones to the shirt make sure you place something inside so the front doesn’t end up glued to the back. I had already cut out my letters for the back so I used the plastic packaging they came in. I kept the stones on the adhesive strips they came on to make placement easier and faster. After the plastic backing was removed I used a bamboo skewer from the kitchen to apply Mod Podge to the back of the stones. Mod Podge is a runny product. If you use it for a similar project try to keep your item over the bottle and let the excess run off. Otherwise it will land where you don’t want it.

After all the stones were glued down I used a small paint brush to put Mod Podge between them. It’s water proof when dry, and I wanted to make sure the stones stay where I put them. However, I don’t think this is a garment I’m going to put into the washing machine. If I calculated correctly there are 1,014

rhinestones on my flag shirt (Yikes!). It’s doesn’t seem too heavy when on, but there is some heft there. The Modge Podge was allowed to dry overnight. Now that I have the benefit of hindsight I would have ironed my phrase to the back before applying the stones. I ended ironing the letters to the shirt shortly before leaving for work. After I got home I brushed Mod Podge over the glitter on the letters. Hopefully, it will keep it from rubbing off over time.

If I have any nuggets of wisdom to pass on after this project, the first would be this. Don’t think too hard about the actual logistics. You might scare yourself out of doing something downright impressive. I tend to be a seat-of-the-pants crafter and was formulating the number of rhinestones needed for each section as I went along. I had no idea I put over 1000 rhinestones on this shirt until I did my calculations for this post. I guess that's why it took me almost an hour to put Mod Podge between them. I might have decided it was too much effort if I had known what I was really doing, but must say that the sticker strips were a big time saver. Nugget number two – keep your eyes and your imagination open. You never know what you might be able to create.

The Project Queen

Haute Pot

In the “Jar” post, I mentioned ordering an African violet for a relative who lost a loved one. It was actually a 2-part gift. Since she had plenty to deal with after their passing, I wanted to make the receipt of a plant easier for her, especially since she had never grown a violet before. So I created a kit that contained everything she would need to make her new arrival happy.

Her favorite color was burgundy and I had already chosen a pink violet with dark pink centers. I ventured to the nearest home improvement store in high hopes of finding a small burgundy pot suitable for an African violet. I struck out. There were some red porcelain pots, but I was starting to consider a project involving burgundy spray paint, and covering up a nice, glossy glaze seemed a bit wasteful. After perusing the shelf for a few minutes I found a small brown pot with a matte glaze. It was perfect.

Naturally, I wasn’t satisfied with simply painting the pot. It needed to be jazzed up a bit more. I started snooping thru my various paint supplies and found a bottle of Valspar Translucent Iridescent Glaze “Golden Opal Satin” and some vials of “Tiny Glass Marbles”. The marbles were going to need something to adhere them to the pot. Aha! I still had a bottle of Mod Podge lurking on the shelf.

After the pot was painted and the glaze was allowed to dry, I used painter’s tape to mark off 4 vertical stripes. The Mod Podge was applied with a small sponge brush and the tiny marbles were sprinkled on thick enough to provide full coverage on the stripes. They were used the same way one normally does glitter. Each stripe was allowed to dry before the next one was done. Once all the stripes were finished, the tape was removed and the entire outside surface of the pot was coated with Mod Podge. I wanted to make sure the marbles were completely affixed, plus the high-gloss decopodge seems to deepen the luster of iridescent and metallic paints.

In case you’re wondering, the inside of the pot wasn’t spray painted. The brown glaze looked fine with the new exterior, and I didn’t want to introduce any chemicals that might be harmful to the violet. To complete the kit, I included some of the same rock used in my violet jars and a small bag of soil. A bulb baster for watering was also included, but a small water can with a long narrow sprout would work fine for a violet in a pot. (Since I was trying to keep my shipping costs lower, I went with the baster.)

A plant in a personalized pot makes a great gift for many occasions. If time is an issue there is no need to involve painting of any kind. I had a miniature Phalaenopsis orchid in dire need of repotting, so I placed it in a blue and white striped porcelain planter. The two largest stripes were coated with decopodge and blue tiny marbles before the plant was placed in it.

For those who might be interested in decorating their own custom pots, the iridescent glaze may not be available anymore (or it’s just not carried at my local Lowes.) This summer I found a few bottles of it on the “oops” paint shelf with a clearance price. Metallic or iridescent craft paint could certainly be used on plastic, terracotta or matte glazed pots. I used spray paint as my base paint for smooth, easy coverage without any brush strokes.  I would recommend doing so even if you’re using craft paint. A good, solid base coat can minimize the amount of paint applied by hand. Plus, you could have fun with it. Use a contrasting base and let the fancy paint be streaky so the base shows thru, or if you’re not afraid of paint on your hands, rub the metallic in for a mottled texture. I used that technique on the large pots pictured below. (I wanted them to look like the fancy glazed pottery planters found for $50 or more at nurseries. They are Better Homes and Gardens plastic planters from Wal-Mart sold for $25. They were already blue.)

I believe I found the tiny marbles at Michael’s, but I’ve had them a few years. I’m not 100% certain. I do know they were in the paper crafting and scrapbooking department. I found them with the glitter. Other options found in that dept. could be decals of inspirational words and phrases, or some of the funky stickers. If your recipient (or yourself) appreciates a bit of bling, flat-backed rhinestones or acrylic jewels are an option too.

The Project Queen

P.S. – My apologies for not providing how-to photos. When I did these projects last spring, doing a blog was something I was kind of thinking about. I’m not used to stopping and taking a photo of every step. Nor am I an avid journal keeper. Just bear with me. As time passes, I’m hoping documentation becomes second nature.



Hooked!

My weakness for accumulating extends beyond shelves of fabric, yarn and art supplies. I’m a voracious reader and collector of printed matter.

As a child my greatest obsession was horses. Since owning one was not possible (according to my dad) I lived vicariously through horse stories. That single-mindedness came with me into middle school, and then my interests started expanding.

Some of them, such as learning basic sewing, were my mom’s idea. I thought she was trying to torture me, sitting me down in front of a contrary sewing machine. Other things I started discovering on my own.

My mom is not an accumulator. (I blame that on my dad.) She has kept keepsakes with personal meaning, and some of them were carefully stored in my parents’ bedroom closet. Occasionally, she would allow me to snoop thru her goodies. It was like being allowed into Aladdin’s cave. During one of those treasure hunts I found a green crochet hook. I still have it.

For some reason the shiny little object intrigued me. After asking my mom what it did, she bought some inexpensive yarn and showed me what she remembered. She probably thought it would be a great way to distract me from my burgeoning interest in romance novels.

Mom never really got into crocheting so expanding my knowledge was up to me at first. I was 12 or 13 at the time, so I’m not sure what it was about making loops with yarn that captured my interest. With the help of a library book I learned single crochet, double crochet, etc. Eventually, I was able to make squares with straight sides.

These days I can tackle some pretty fancy stitches and sophisticated projects, but I can’t take full credit for my current skill level. The honor goes to a lady named Shirley.

During the summer, my brother and I occasionally went to Shirley’s house if my mom was going to be away from home for several hours. Shirley was a bit older than my mom and became a mother later in life. Her daughter was three. Shirley was smart enough to have my brother and I keep the wee one entertained while she did household chores. The little girl was pretty easy-going and still liked her naps. Downtime was easy to find.

Portable entertainment for me was usually a book, but while at Shirley’s I became fascinated by her preferred relaxation activity. While watching her favorite daytime television she was usually making something lacy and dainty with a small silver hook and white thread. It looked like crocheting, only on a much smaller scale than I’d been practicing.

My self-taught forays had not yet brought me into the realm of doily making. I had no idea crochet hooks came in different sizes, especially tiny. When I expressed my curiosity, Shirley seized the opportunity to share her knowledge. In the early 80s doily making was something grandmas did, so I think she was surprised and pleased someone my age was interested.

At first I wasn’t sure I liked crocheting doilies. The little hooks and thin crochet thread were a challenge to my fine motor skills and attention span. Fortunately, Shirley was a patient teacher. Because she persevered with me, I learned to read patterns, increased my stitch repertoire and developed an appreciation for more challenging projects.

I didn’t become a devoted doily maker, and sometimes crocheting has gone on hiatus for a while. In recent years the burgeoning interest in “retro” design has pulled me back into many of the hobbies I’ve enjoyed. It did inspire me to return to my crochet roots.

I’ve actually been collecting vintage sewing patterns for several years, so moving into crochet and knitting books was a natural progression. Over the past 5 years I’ve acquired some neat little booklets with pretty, practical patterns and fun, kitschy items. The book pictured with this blog is a recent purchase. It’s a Dover publication from the 1970s. Some of you might be thinking “Groovy!” and “Psychedelic!”, but we’ll explore that at a later date.

My favorite decades for collecting are the 1930s thru the early 60s. So why the 70s book? The cover art attracted my attention. I bought this book from someone who listed it on Amazon. “Look Inside This Book” wasn’t available. However, the price was right and the cover art looked like the era I was searching for.

It was a hunch that paid off. “Crocheting Tablecloths and Placemats” is a reproduction of 5 different pattern books dating from 1937-1944. What made it even better was that I paid about $6.00 for it. My biggest reason for purchasing it was as a reference of motifs. Crocheters know motifs are very adaptable to all kinds of projects, including clothing. I’m going to choose a motif and make a doily, though. It occurred to me I’ve reached an important milestone recently. It’s been 30 years since Shirley gave me the skills to be an accomplished crocheter. A doily made in her honor and displayed prominently in my new lady lair (studio) seems appropriate.

The Project Queen