Author: Autumn
I write 'n stuff.
Scones
I grew up in Utah, so to me, scones were something that you fried in oil and ate with honey butter. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned that scones were something completely different to the rest of the world.
For those who are curious about this “Utah scone” idea, you take some sort of white bread dough (I personally like to use a dinner roll recipe), shape it flat after letting it rise, then fry it in oil until golden (flipping them over to cook both sides). The bigger the better. Like, if you can make them as big as a dinner plate, you’ve mastered the art of Utah scones. Eat with lots of honey butter — and I mean lots. We’re talking sinful levels of indulgence here.
Anyway
The other day it hit me that I can’t remember ever eating a *real* scone. So I pulled out my big book of baking recipes, and found one for chocolate chip orange scones. Basically, any recipe that calls for citrus zest is a winner in my mind, so I went for it.
Not my recipe, so I’m not going to post it. 😛
Just imagine a basic scone with orange zest, orange juice, and chocolate chips added. Then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar before baking. In fact, you can take this recipe, and substitute the last three ingredients for everything I just mentioned, plus 1/3 cup milk.
I just dropped the dough down on the cookie sheet without doing any sort of shaping, ’cause I’m lazy like that. Consequently, my kids are pretty convinced that these are cookies, and nothing is going to change their minds.
And wow, these are so good.
Thank you for sharing my work!
Spinning Yarn
Once upon a time, I bought some carded wool and a drop spindle, and made a bunch of yarn that I knitted into a baby blanket. Then the baby was born, and I never spun yarn again. True story.
That was 9 years ago.
The other day, our wonderful Amazon overlords said to me, “You want to buy this.”
I looked at it and exclaimed, “Yes I do!”
I absolutely love the color combination of pink and yellow, and the way they blend together into a scrumptious rose gold. Too irresistible!
So I placed the order and dug out my drop spindle for a revival.
Last week I mentioned that I prefer working on fiddly crafts, and this is one of them.
I’ve also got a lace tee that I’m crocheting, a t shirt that I’m decorating with embroidery, and a button up shirt that I’m sewing for my husband. What can I say? I’m totally out of control.
I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is that housework is so 2019. That’s how I have time for all of this. Ha ha. (I also make the kids earn their screen time by doing chores)
Anyway
The real reason for writing this post:
As an author, I have a compulsion to spin yarns — in one form or another.
*rimshot*
Thank you for sharing my work!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thank you for sharing my work!
Wad of Cash
Sanity
Writing keeps me sane.
My usual tradition is to read a book after finishing a first draft, before beginning on the second. This time, circumstances aren’t quite usual.
In one sense, I’m barely aware of the world. Truth is, ten years ago I saw too much, and turned my back on society in disgust. I don’t like being a negative person, but there’s really no other way for me to describe why I live like a hermit in the middle of suburbia. Heck, we even tried going off grid several years ago, but that proved to be too difficult with the resources we had.
And yet, there’s a great deal that even I can’t hide from. I feel it every time I see a face mask littering the sidewalk. I know it’s out there, lurking just outside our fence line.
It’s seemingly taken away my ability to focus on reading. I can do everything else, but whenever I sit down with a book, I can’t follow what’s happening on the pages or remember who’s who. I can only finish short novellas if I read them out loud to my children (We’re currently reading The Fairy Rebel). I end up doing some sort of fiddly craft with my hands instead.
I can’t follow my usual ritual this time around. When I don’t spend my evenings re-centering my balance and exploring my fictional world, the noise from the children during the day gets inside my head too much.
So it looks like I’ll be plowing through the second draft of Alice and the Warden without “cleansing my mental palate” first. I have to work with what I’ve got.
Thank you for sharing my work!
…
Sometimes I read a blog post.
I type a comment.
Then I think, “Wow. I am so triggered right now.”
So I delete the comment without posting and close the page.
No one will understand anyway.
Better to just write it into a story.
Thank you for sharing my work!
Alicia’s Booties knitting pattern
“I’ll tell you what, dear, … I’ve got some leftover yarn from my grandbaby’s blanket, and I can have some booties knitted up in a jiffy.”
Alice and the Warden, by Autumn Rain
Materials
Worsted weight yarn
Markers
Yarn needle
0-3 months: Size 3 needles
3-6 months: Size 4 needles
6-9 months: Size 5 needles
9-12 months: Size 6 needles
Sole
CO 26
Odd rows: sl1, k to end
Row 2: k1, m1, k11, pm, m1, k1, m1, k1, m1, pm, (5 sts total between markers) k11, m1, k1
Row 4: sl1, k1, m1, k11, (sl marker), m1, k2, m1, k3, m1, (sl marker), k11, m1, k2
Row 6: sl1, k2, m1, k11, (sl marker), m1, k4, m1, k4, m1, (sl marker), k11, m1, k3
Row 8: sl1, k3, m1, k11, (sl marker), m1, k5, m1, k6, m1, (sl marker), k11, m1, k4
Row 10: sl1, k4, m1, k11, (sl marker), m1, k7, m1, k7, m1, (sl marker), k11, m1, k5
Row 11: sl1, k to end (remove markers)
Foot
Rows 12-18: stockinette stitch (k odd rows, p even rows)
Row 19: sl1, k28, ssk, turn
Even rows: sl1, p7, p2tog, turn
Odd rows: sl1, k7, ssk, turn
Continue short rows until there are 36 sts on needles.
sl1, k to end
sl1, p to end
Eyelet row: sl1, (yo, k2tog, k) repeat to end (12 yo total)
sl1, p to end
Cuff
Continue in 2×2 ribbing (k2, p2) until 2x desired length
End after even row
BO3, (sl st to left needle, CO2, BO6) repeat across
Note: Picots are supposed to be centered over P sts in ribbing
Cut yarn with long tail to sew up the back of bootie (~2ft)
Weave in ends
Thread yarn or ribbon for a shoe lace through eyelet row, fold over cuff
Decorate!
Note: Little hands like to grab things! Tuck the laces under the cuff to protect them, and make sure decorations like pompoms are attached securely.
Thank you for sharing my work!
Unhappy Woman
Thank you for sharing my work!
Discord Channel – By Autumn Rain
I’ve been talked into creating a Discord channel.
I haven’t the slightest clue who’d want to talk to me, but it exists. I’ll probably post pictures of my cats.
If you want, you can ask me to read the first chapter of your novel, or for insider gossip about my fictional characters, or tell me that I’m the best person to ever exist (lawl jk).
Of course, as an FYI, I only get around to conversing when I feel good and ready to, so don’t expect me to be constantly plugged in 24/7.
Also, I can’t figure anything out. I am not super internet-literate.
By Autumn Rain 