Thor Cosplay: Sabatons

     Sabaton being just a fancy word for foot armor, and Thor definitely needs foot armor. I had a pair of black boots with about a 1" heel that I figured would work well as a base, and downloaded this pattern to get a general idea of how sabatons work. Obviously, I couldn't follow it perfectly, since it's made for a non-heeled shoe, but it made a good first attempt. Several tweaks later, I felt I had something good enough to cut out of foam:

     A functional difficulty for shoe armor is that it has to flex with your foot. A breastplate or bracer doesn't need to move, but if you make fixed joints on a shoe, you're not going to go far. I used random bits of wire to test the pattern pieces out, but that wasn't strong or pretty enough for a final go. After some hunting, I found screw rivets (aka Chicago screws), primarily made for binding books, but conveniently the right size for, say, sabaton joints. With the screw side on the interior, it looks a lot like rivets you'd see on actual armor. I covered all the pieces with Worbla, poked (a lot of) holes in them at what felt like the right points, and had a pretty decent, functional piece of armor.

Baking again

     I don't tend to bake much over the holidays, since everyone else is baking, there is no shortage of sweets, and it's generally a chaotic time of the year anyway. The past couple years, I've found it's much easier to wait until February or so, and do baking then - people are usually in the winter blahs and quite thrilled to get some sweetness and excitement of new things to try. This year was no exception, and I got to try some interesting new recipes.

Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies (Vegan)

Mash together:

   2 ripe bananas

   1/2 cup shredded carrots

   1/2 cup applesauce

   2 tsp vanilla

Add:

   2 cups oats (I prefer old-fashioned, you could probably use instant)

   1/2 cup dried pineapple, torn to smallish bits

   1/2 cup raisins

   1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

   1/2 tsp salt

It will make a very wet, non-cookie-dough-like mass in the bowl. I doubt myself every time I make it, but trust that it will work out. Drop onto a greased pan, bake for 12-15 minutes at 350° until solid but not dry. Let cool, store in the fridge. 

Chocolate Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cream:

   1 cup butter (real butter, no skimping and using lard or margarine)

   5/8 cup or scant 3/4 cup sugar

   5/8 cup or scant 3/4 cup brown sugar

   4 eggs

   1/2 cup cocoa powder (dark is best, milk will do)

Add:

   3 1/2 cups flour (start with 3, then add as needed to get sticky dough)

   1 tsp salt

   2 tsp baking powder

   1/4 tsp espresso powder

Stir in:

   1 cup chocolate chips

   generous 1/2 cup dried cherries

Dough should be sticky, not easily rolled into balls. Drop onto pan, bake 10-12 minutes at 350° until firm but not dry.    

I did not get any photos, and they were all gone by the time I thought to do so. I will definitely be making both again, however, so I will come back and update if I remember next time.