Ruby Red

I finished my final handmade gift for Ruby's birthday. I didn't make her anything for Christmas, so I figured I'd make up for all those made in China toys with plenty of handmade goods. After the two aprons I figured she needed an actual toy. I've been meaning to make the Ruby Doll over at One Red Robin for ages (for obvious reasons) so I finally got down to it.

This gal is easy, easy, easy to do, even for novice sewers like myself (though I did give her a very rustic look, not entirely intentional). She's pretty 2-D (i.e., no bottom), so there's no round pieces or gussets to worry about. I used a bunch of fabric scraps left over from last year's Wee Wonderful-mania and I really like the folksy look of this doll. Plus she took about two hours to make from start to finish, which is a big bonus. There's also room for tons of variation: check out the other Rubies over at the Ruby Doll Flickr Group.


Speaking of bright red, I made some delicious beet soup the other day, courtesy of Martha Stewart/Everyday Food's vegetable puree soup recipe. I don't have time to look up the link, but you basically just saute an onion in olive oil, add a couple of pounds of beets (or whatever else you fancy), a cup and a half of chicken stock and enough water to cover the beets. Simmer for 20 minutes or so, puree, and to make it really good, add a few tablespoons of lemon juice. If you want, do like I did and pour portions into ziplocks and freeze. Yum! Though, be careful if you're using a hand blender -- I'm still cleaning up beet juice.