The Ugly Loaf

If there were a prize for the ugliest loaf of bread ever baked, I'm sure I'd win it. In fact, I'm thinking of starting my own contest just so I can win. (I'm very competitive that way.)

It's possible to make a beautiful loaf of Christopsomos. Here's one I saw online. 

Here's the image in the book that showed me how to shape the loaf. I did pretty well with the boule. The "cross" was a little harder.

Here's how mine looked just before I popped it into the oven.

For one thing, I had a little trouble keeping the "cross" dough in place...and those little curly-cues at the end...forget it. They wouldn't stay curled, and I was afraid they would fall away from the loaf and burn. I sort of tucked them under the bottom of the loaf to hold them in place.

Here's another pretty one found online. I didn't look at these until after mine was already in the oven. Theirs were shaped around walnuts, and that seemed like a good idea.

Here's my loaf...and what a sad thing it is. 

Now...you need to understand that I'm saying all of this tongue-in-cheek. Because I'm still learning, I get the luxury of poking fun at my ugly loaf. Anybody who expects perfection on their first try is setting themselves up for disappointment, and so I'm just happy it came out of the oven in one piece. Still...I'm sure it would win the ugly prize if there was one. This one below, however...lovely.

And you can see how the walnuts help hold the curly-cue shape. On the other hand...these are my curly-cues.

I'm not saying a single word about what this reminds me of, and you should get your mind out of the gutter. Shame on you.

With all of that said, the proof is on the inside, so to speak, and mine was very pretty inside. Of course I had to slice off a piece and taste it. The cranberries, raisins, and walnuts make it one tasty bread.

For breakfast this morning, I had a slice toasted with plenty of butta. Mmm, mmm, mmm. 

It just goes to show, you should never judge a bread by its crust...or something like that.

The only other thing I accomplished yesterday was getting the next design traced out for Hocuspocusville. This morning, I started stitching on it.

I'm hoping I can get this one finished before January 1st because that's when we'll be starting the Bag Ladies of the Fat Quarter Club stitch-along.

You can click on that image for all the details about the stitch-along. (There will be a monthly linky party with prizes!!!) There's still plenty of time to join in. The patterns are available at Chickadee Hollow Designs. You can contact them directly right here to receive 10% off the patterns. Just tell them Cat Patches sent you. I'll be starting off with "Ernestine" and in a week or so, I'll show you how I prepare the blocks for stitching. These come pre-stamped and colored, but it's still a good idea to add a backing to your block before stitching.

Today I'm picking up eggs from the farmers and then doing my grocery shopping. Hopefully, I'll have time this afternoon to get back to the quilting for Gingerbread Square. We're expecting more snow tomorrow, so it's time to stock up.