This project is part of the Baker's Dozen Ultimate Cookie Exchange. Thirteen bloggers are joining up to share cookie recipes, and there are six giveaways sprinkled among the posts so be sure to visit them all.

I decided to take a literal interpretation for my Christmas cookie project, and I also wanted to try making a cookie that stands up on its own. A partridge in a pear tree was just perfect.

The good news is that I have found you one kick ass structural gingerbread recipe. The bad news is that while it's technically edible, you wouldn't want to eat it as it's very tough and could potentially do some damage to your teeth.

I'll be honest here, I wish I could do this over. It was my first time working with serious royal icing and I didn't quite get the hang of it. After way too many batches of gingerbread that couldn't hold up under it's own weight I ran out of time and the icing technique suffered.

I made separate pears and used royal icing (recipe below) to glue them on.

Besides the pears there are only three pieces:

I'm trying to show how they fit together:

The tree pieces fit together to hold everything up, and the bird perches on the branch that extends out front. The tallest part of the tree is just over nine inches tall.

Here is an overhead view:

Gingerbread recipe, printable pattern, tips, and many, many pictures when you click MORE.
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I keep seeing recommendations for the Canon S90 point and shoot camera. And, as luck would have it, I'll be headed to Paris in a few months (yay!!!) and could use a camera with remarkable picture quality that takes up a lot less space than my DSLR. It shoots well in low light, it shoots in RAW, it has controls a DSLR user will appreciate, it makes me drool a bit.

But then, somewhere in my research of the Canon S90 I came across a mention of this Panasonic Lumix LX3. It's cool looking, sports a Leica lens and HD video recording.

And then I came across the Canon G11, which has an articulating display screen. It also shoots in RAW and has the same low light performance as the S90. I used to have a Canon with one of these flippy, rotate-y screens which I loved until the day it refused to take pictures anymore.

I've already worked my way through the Stages Of Justification and decided I need one of these but I just cannot decide. Which one? Which?

(Earlier this year Scott and I bought a teeny tiny Nikon point and shoot the day before we went to Vegas. It was inexpensive and lightweight and fit in my wedding purse and took pictures that were just fine in the Vegas sun. However it's really not good in the Seattle winter. Lesson re-learned, you get what you pay for.)

I've mentioned the mirrormirror boutique here before, so you already know I like the stuff they carry. This year they are offering Not Martha readers free shipping to anywhere in the world. To get it choose the 'FREE shipping with offer code' option at check out and write the code word 'Not Martha' in the 'how did you hear about us?' box in shopping basket. The last day for free shipping is Dec. 10th.

I picked out a few things that caught my eye, some of them are recurring favorites. Above you'll see Chick Stud Earrings, Creative Interiors Journal and Colouring Book, Paris Tea Towels, Stacking Egg Cups, Hanging Peacock, and the Paprika Table Lamp (expensive but so lovely).

Where is the most bountiful font of 'hipster cribs' stories? | Ask Metafilter.

shelterrific » modern mailbox: found. I must remember this!

swissmiss | Overhang Shelf with Hooks. I'm currently shopping for things that will fit in our tiny bathroom, this might work.

Chunky Console Table | west elm. I love that this can act as a fireplace-like focal point in a room. Wish this was around when we were trying to figure out what to do with the dining room.

Felt-o-rama: classic fibers for modern crafters: Felt Christmas Trees - Merry and Bright!. So easy and so fun. Via Spinning Jennie.

twelve22 - Winter-time paper house freebie.

dozi: stacked felt xmas trees.

The Small Object » Stacking Fabric Christmas Trees.

gray felted sweater tree on Flickr.

25 Days of Christmas Craft - a set on Flickr.

Perfect Sugar Cookies and Royal Icing on marthastewart.com.

FilzFelt | Holiday. Felt ornaments, so cool.

ISO gingerbread construction recipes - Home Cooking - Chowhound.

pies and gossamer thread trees « West Coast Crafty. I love the little thread trees that Susan made. The instructions are in a book being sold to raise money for charity, it's available only through Dec. 31st: Crafty Tree Trimmings.

I have this thing about winter hats, they never quite cover my earlobes. I forget all about this until I'm out in the cold and then it's too late and I end up tugging the hat down trying to keep my poor ears warm. Even the Calorimetry, which I love, doesn't quite cover my whole ear (maybe I have freakishly large ears?).

The hat shown here is my rough draft and is riddled with mistakes. I closed the short rows on one side incorrectly, I missed when to cable and did some at every five rows, some at six and one a seven. Despite this it's still my favorite functionally warm hat. And I have enough yarn to make a more polished one. It's pictured here on a styrafoam head that is considerably smaller than my own head.

The hat shown pulled down over the forehead.

I was telling a friend, Maggi, about this and my requirements. I didn't want to have a staggered cast on (I like tubular for hats), I didn't want to have tie anything under the chin, I didn't want to go back and knit ear flaps later on (they don't seem to do anything but hang there anyhow). Then Maggi, all effortless like, suggested short rows. She is a genius. I've only just wrapped my head around how short rows work so I gave it a shot.

The hat shown pulled back a bit.

I made the short rows on this hat like you would do for a sock heel (each row was shorter than the previous), and the result was that they curl inward and hug underneath the ear, a nice unexpected outcome. I used the Chunky Cabled Beanie pattern from Stitch Cafe as a starting point. (Here found at the Internet Archive after it disappeared during a site redesign sometime in the last two days.) I added a pattern repeat, for a total of seven cable/rib sections, and placed the short row areas centered over cabled sections closer to the back of the head, if you are counting from the join at the back of the head they would be over sections 2 and 6.

The hat is shown above flat. On the left is the hat from the front, and on the right is the hat from the side (if worn one's face would be pointed to the left). I'm trying to show how I didn't center the earflaps but set them back a bit, they seem to be well placed for me.

(I'm no good at getting photographs of myself in a mirror, this is the only one that shows the hat well enough.)

There are a few short row earflap hats already out there including this very tidy one from QueerJoe's Knitting Blog, the Brioche Helmet Hat from Interweave Knits, Earflap Hat from Sunshine Knit Designs, and Cameron's Cap by Sarah Peasley (note: that link is to a PDF).

I'm not sure if it uses short rows but I like the cabled had from Rebecca shown by Action Hero in her roundup of winter hats. Another ear covering hat that comes immediately to mind is the Amelia Earhart Aviator Cap. On Ravelry I found the Mimipita Earflap Hat, which is written in Japanese but uses a universal chart, and the Cabled Earflap Hat which is sized for a baby but easily made larger using a larger gauge.

There are also plenty of cute earflap hats that have chin ties that I wouldn't mind having: Cabled Chullo, Snowboarder Hat That Rocks and 18 Seconds to Sunrise.

One last note, I still really like Japanese short rows. The best tutorials I've found are at nonaKnits and for Japanese short rows in the round Adorabubble Knits works through it nicely.

p.s. My project is here on Ravelry in case you're interested: red cabled short row earflap hat.

Appvent Calendar, offered from Blacksmith Games, give us a free game offered for one day through the month of December. Go, play.

Best Mac text-editor to replace Homesite on a PC? | Ask Metafilter.

A $15 Must-Have iPhone Accessory - Salon.com.

This Thursday night at 7 p.m. Amy Karol (Angry Chicken) will be at The Quilting Loft to sign her book Bend The Rules With Fabric. I be there with that and her first book, Bend-The-Rules Sewing, in hand.

This weekend is the Urban Craft Uprising! Dec. 5th and 6th, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. So many of my favorites will be there:

• Cakespy paintings and cards
• Crystalyn Kae handbags
• Dave Sheely Designs resin jewelry
• Devout Dolls
• Dinah Coops sustainable home goods
• Ex Libris Anonymous journals made from old books
• Glamscience glitter jewelry and clothing
• Idolatre clothing
• Made By Moxie felt lovelies
• Matthew Porter art and books for kids
• Monsieur T. t-shirts
• Polymath Design Labs geek jewelry
• Urban Soule home goods
• Schmancy handmade goods
• Secret Stash Sea Salts flavored salts

Wednesday, Dec. 9th is the Anniversary Party for the Grassroots Business Association. We'll be gathering at Vermillion to talk over the year that has passed, there will be cupcakes.

Slow-poached eggs. Made from the Momofuku cookbook.

Pasta with Butternut Parmesan Sauce Recipe | Simply Recipes.

Straining Ladle | Incredible Things. Like that scoop and strain As Seen on TV, but not plastic. I might get this.

What to drink on Thanksgiving: Napa cabernet - Slate Magazine. I have been avoiding Napa cabernets for the reasons outlined in this article, but the author gives us some ones to try that never gave in to trying to please wine critics.

Why Does Pumpkin Pie Weep? : Because it's sad that you're overcooking it - CHOW.

Savory Onion and Leek Tart Recipe by - CHOW.

The Lowly Côtes du Rhône : Châteauneuf-du-Pape, watch your back - CHOW.

Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef: gluten-free pie crust.

Tea Spot NYC: Whole-Wheat Farro Bread. As I recently discovered how much I like farro, I must try this bread.

New Finds: Glass Drinking Straws - Blog - CHOW.

MUJI Ice Maker. A newer version of the Muji ice ball maker I have, this one looks quite sleek.

Ramos Gin Fizz « SpiritsAndCocktails.com.

LAST WORD « SpiritsAndCocktails.com.

How do I roast chestnuts so that they're easy to peel? | Ask Metafilter.

Peppermint Sticks and more delicious recipes, smart cooking tips, and video demonstrations on marthastewart.com. Via Not Without Salt.

I just ate a pasta dish that was saturated with garlic. Help me get rid of the taste! | Ask Metafilter.

I love, love this cleverly disguised Extreme Pumpkin Pie over at Extreme Holiday Ideas. (Whom you might recognize from long running Extreme Pumpkins fame.) The layers of this pie are propped up in a very clever way, using lengths of Pirouette cookies.

The The Pumpkin-Apple-Pecan Pie made by Cakespy is fun, and would make sure that everybody's pie needs are filled if your gathering isn't three full-sized pies large.

And the Pumpkin Pie Bites from Bakerella are adorable and I want to make them immediately. See also the Thanksgiving mini pies made by Rakka Deer.

I also wanted to give a shout out (shout back?) for some pies baked in jars love from Bakerella and Brownies For Dinner (I wish I'd used larger jars too!).

I hope you all have a very yummy Thanksgiving!