next row of crayons completed 🎉 thinking maybe teal and purple for the next one, or teal and yellow? hmm #weaving

this is fine. no problems here. 🙈

winter is almost over, thank goodness, and my brain is coming out of its hibernation. I'm happy to be back at the loom. This is a mini-quilt, based on a big quilt I've had since I was a little kid. It's (hopefully) going to be on display for the bay area […] [Original post on toots.ravenoak.dev]

last night's macawrongs are raspberry and chocolate and they are Cronchy (in a good and delicious way) I have a theory about the crinkly tops - the oven was not hot enough when I put these in and they never got the big rise they're supposed to have. they […] [Original post on toots.ravenoak.dev]

on our way home and, praise zeus, the weather is cooperating. it'll snow later but we'll be home by then.

#spinning class is going well even with the thumb out of commission. assembling my little scrapbook is the hard part, but I can tidy it up at home. #redalderfiberarts

yesterday was very cold and rainy but the sun came out today tacoma is so pretty #mosstodon

road tripping with an old friend 💕 #redalderfiberarts

of course I cut the shit out of my thumb the night before a big fiber arts conference. right now the most painful part is knowing I won't be able to knit on the drive up. no idea how I'm going to do my spinning class (the cut is on my drafting hand) but I'm determined to go. might be able to […]

it's been an emergency chocolate kind of week. these are technically for my brother, but I get to have one for quality control reasons. chocolate hazelnut-almond #macarons with chocolate almond filling.

RE: https://toots.ravenoak.dev/@rebecca/115969601326779689 they're actually pretty good with tea. it's gotta be assertive stuff, I'm drinking Irish Breakfast (which I normally don't like) and it's OK. next time I'm just going to buy a container of chai powder and use that to avoid Licorice Hell […]

the latest batch of #macarons were supposed to be chai flavored but I went too hard on the star anise so they're mostly licorice flavored and they're gross. the shells are unflavored so I have been scraping off the frosting and they are ok. still kind of gross but in a tolerable way. can't win […]

depression is stored in the ass

today's #baking project: refill the cookie tin peeling pistachios is some bullshit but grinding fresh pistachio flour meant I could throw in cardamom and rose petals. tres fancy. the little ones are just pistachio, the big ones have pistachio around the […] [Original post on toots.ravenoak.dev]

phew, no cracks this time. 300° for 12 minutes in the exact center of the oven is the magic timing these have mocha shells & salty hazelnut cream tea filling #baking #macarons

shit's bad. I'm baking through it. lavender-lemon shells, lemon curd and tea-flavored buttercream filling. the shells are a little hollow and some cracked, but they're getting better. half of these were baked on the bottom shelf, and that was not the […] [Original post on toots.ravenoak.dev]

et voila ✨ these taste a lot better the next day. I probably should have filled these when I baked them, they are a little soft from the humidity and smushing the filling was not great for the shells but these are not for anyone except me so a little […] [Original post on toots.ravenoak.dev]

if I had a podcast it would be about my food like how every green vegetable goes with either chilies or mustard but not both (and it's not just brassicas vs everything else)

why are these so popular is it a e s t h e t i c or is it just conspicuous capitalism 🤔 (spoilers! they're the same thing!)

I'm really enjoying the process of making macarons but these taste like cheap sugary breakfast cereal lmao why does powdered sugar taste like that. why do these taste like cocoa puffs. why am I doing this to myself.

I made macaron shells and it wasn't impossible. it wasn't that hard even. just fussy. getting the oven perfect is going to take some time but I'm not mad about how these came out. they're very tasty.

I'm not a "new year new me" kinda person but this is the year I'm going to get good at sugar — not frosting, fuck frosting, all my homies hate frosting — caramel and fudge and that kind of thing. I have always thought that it's fussy and hard but like […] [Original post on toots.ravenoak.dev]

I finished one sweater this year. that's better than zero sweaters, which is my usual number. this was a good road trip project. this is a hexagon sweater with a shawl collar and a pocket. it is too big in a very cozy way. #crochet

haha oh wow. that's too many cookies. what have I done. #yule #baking

that's the end of the chocolate so I am Done #Baking for the holidays the (unintentional) theme this year was Nuts, which I think I like a little better than last years Fruits theme. nuts are very delicious and they go so well with coffee (and chocolate […] [Original post on toots.ravenoak.dev]

so that's 6 batches of cookies done - lemon poppyseeds - hazelnut shortbread - almond shortbread - hazelnut/almond/walnut shortbread - chocolate balls - spritz two more and a batch of toffee to go. the biarritz might wait until tomorrow because I don't have a piping bag. I had a piping bag but […]

I like a lot of things about holiday baking but the science project that is making candied cherries might be my favorite part. it smells *so good* right now.

ah phew that's ... four batches of cookies done. all shortbread today, lots of nuts, lots of butter. still have the fancy orange curd bars, toffee, spritz. cherry balls. and biarritz. lots of fruit and chocolate coming up next.

grinding xp at costco on a Saturday because I did not think far enough ahead to get my four pounds of butter on a less stupid morning

winter solstice preparations are afoot. ❄️🌿✨ these are peppermint mocha brownie cookies (made from brownie mix!) and I have cleverly situated myself in front of the cooling racks for easy quality assurance. #baking

s h a p e s #catsofmastodon

they are ... In Cahoots #catsofmastodon

daaaaaammmmmn we're visiting my second favorite civ II wonder today

the coziness levels are off the charts today #catsofmastodon

yummy yummy pasta night 🍝

so nice of Karl to welcome us back to the bay

did I worry it wouldn't come out? yes did I burn my hand when it fell out of the pan because I wasn't expecting it to come out so fast? a little it's glorious. my friends are going to be so impressed. just have to make some raspberry coulis and pack it up for tomorrow. #baking

I had to say goodbye to my big boy Orson today. he was the biggest sweetest goofiest boy and I miss him so much. 🖤

this was a triumph I'm making a note here: huge success 💕 #handspinning #boucle

the ferns are thrilled about the rain. I hope they get enormous over the winter. #ferniverse

taking a breather from my trash batts and spinning something simple and luxurious. this is tweedy merino/silk and I didn't have to blend it myself or anything.🍃 #handspinning

I went online shopping and not only did I manage to land 38 cents over the free shipping amount and I did not buy the cake pans designed for someone's four year old grandson because I am Exercising Restraint. (but boy oh boy do I want to make a choo choo train cake now)

I learned on my last skein not to snap wet silk, so these are having a very gentle drip dry before they get hung in the bathroom window they came out so pretty 😍 #handspinning #boucle

these keep getting better! there was not quite enough twist in the first ply on this one, it's verrrry soft. I am going to send the last bobbin of singles through the wheel again just to tighten up the loose bits. just fine tuning now ✨ #handspinning #boucle

me, spinning: oh this is going to be nice! I'm going to spin it fine and get lots of yardage me, plying: fuck fuck fuck fuck goddamn why do I do this to myself

I haven't really made friends with my carder until now. initially I bought it to process fleeces but it turns out I kind of hate washing fleece and you can't card greasy wool. I didn't know it was so great for recycling. this is fiber that bugs got into […] [Original post on toots.ravenoak.dev]

I 🤎 soup season I could have made this in the pressure cooker but I have a cold and just sitting next to this bubbly pot of stock is making me feel so much better. it's chicken-based aromatherapy.

had to do some easy spinning after plying the chunky stuff this morning (ugh) this is blended Lincoln and BFL. I'm digging the halo. 😇 #handspun

making some more trash batts - the red/orange is mohair that was matted and not fun to spin. I made socks with it once and they shrunk while they were on my feet. mohair socks, not a fabulous idea.

the bouclé keeps getting better. this is a mostly consistent thick single and three plies of binding thread - feels a lot sturdier and I think it balances better too. I don't know what I'm going to use this for but I can see it working out ok as an accent […] [Original post on toots.ravenoak.dev]