Spinning again....

Oooooh, I'm so excited. Today I'm going to the local (-ish) spinning store and introduce myself and see if I can get signed up for some one-on-one spinning classes. I want to try different wheels, because my plan is to get a small travel wheel someday. I also need to be taught to ply from my drop-spindle.

I'm also bumming today. My daughter leaves again Monday for her Marines technical training. She will be gone this time for about 5 months, with maybe some leave for the holiday season. It seems like we just got her back from SC and boot camp! She has made the most of her time home though, doing all the girly things she loves, like scrapbooking, shopping, and baking up a storm!

My daughter brought us some Western Cake last night, one of our favorite family recipes, handed down to me by my mom. We love this cake, it is so moist from the dates (which give it fiber too--and I'm a fiber-holic inside AND out!) It is chocolatey goodness, with a crunchy sweet topping. This is probably the one cake recipe I'd take with me to a desert island....(think I could bake there?)

Mom's Western Cake

One 8-oz pkg dates cut up in one cup of hot water--add 1 tsp baking soda. Let cool.

Mix:
1 c oleo
1-1/3 c flour
1 c granulated sugar
2 T cocoa
2 eggs
1 t salt
1 t vanilla ext

Add the date mixture & mix well. Pour into greased and floured 9" x 13" baking pan. Spoon on topping:

Mix tog:
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c granulated sugar

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Oooooh, this rocks!


Loving this recipe for nearly 40 years!

I am having fun going through my summer-acquired patterns and books. There are a lot of really cool patterns that I want to make. I don't think I showed y'all what I bought on e-bay...a bunch of really cool patterns, including my first Herbert Neibling lace knitting patterns.

Of course, some of the patterns are in German, which might make life tricky, but there are English knitting symbol translations that came with the patterns.

I think I want to make snowdrop as a first Neibling project (this one is in English), and a small one at that. No huge tablecloth for me yet!! Snowdrop is found in this Anna magazine from Jan 1992:

I also acquired a bunch of vintage Granny Square magazines:

I love this cover the best, and I think it would be cool to make this shirt: