The Nina Collection

Nina Collection of free-form crochet purses, clutches, and pouches was named for Emilin's baby-word for snails and all things spiral. I like the idea of using very basic crochet stitches to create sophisticated and artistic, yet wearable and usable pieces. I wanted the Nina collection to stand in contrast to both the super-cute amigurumi style of crochet and the classic, granny-square-afghan style of crochet. I wanted the color, shape and texture to look polished and sculpted while retaining the softness and lightness of fine wool.

Lola made bread!

Yummy yummy bread! While searching for pointers on improving my breadmaking techniques, I came across a video on youtube for no-knead bread . It was super easy, not at all messy, and the bread was perfect!

I followed the recipe except that I subbed half of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour. The only oven proof container I have that has a lid is a braising pan. The lid has a tiny hole in it for letting out steam. Since the point of the lid is to keep the steam in I plugged the hole up with some extra dough. (Brilliant idea! Not mine!)

The key to this technique is patience! You have to let the dough rise for a long time, at least 12 hours. I mixed everything at around 5 pm and baked it when I got up around 8 am.