Cocoons and Cupcakes

Took a quick break from sock knitting to blog my latest creations....one knitting and one culinary. Both highly scrumptious!

DETAILS:

Pattern: Cocoon Lace Scarf by Evelyn A. Clark for Fiber Trends
Yarn: Alpaca With a Twist's Fino in "First Frost"
Needle: Size 7, 32" Addi Lace
Time: 14 days total
Fun: B....very interesting knit, not too difficult to memorize after a while, and I do love the way that it has a different (but beautiful) look on either side. Only drawback...it seemed like this scarf went on for-e-ver and not sure why.



I made this for Ben's teacher for her end of the year gift and I think she really liked it. After admiring my Icarus Shawl (using the same yarn), I hoped she would love this one, too. What a wonderful teacher she was...thank you, Mrs. Pirozzi!

*HINT - Instead of using that fancy, expensive long Post It tape, try putting your chart into a clear, protective sleeve (like you would any pattern) and use a roll of painter's tape (cheap and will last for a LONG time) to keep your place on the chart. It peels off like magic and can be written on, too. I put one piece above and below my line and it never moves or bunches up, even when I peel it off a million times. When the edges start to lose their stick, just rip off another piece from the roll. Easy as pie!*

Now, on to more yummy projects....

Introducing....

"Corn on the Cob" Cupcakes!



Jackie found this book, Hello, Cupcake! at Barnes and Noble last week and I just fell in love with it! Apart from the delicious and totally adorable cupcake recipes, there was this sentence written on the back:

"No Baking Skills or Fancy Equipment Required!"

And I KNEW I had to buy it then and there.

psst...it's kind of a secret that I am horrible at baking...well, except for apple pie.

Look at the close up on these fancy cupcakes:



We had such a fun time making these...we only needed to buy several shades of yellow/white JellyBelly jelly beans, buttercream frosting, corn holders, yellow Starbursts and colored sugar (we tried to find the black and white for salt and pepper, but had to settle for green as the dill or something). I let the kids arrange the "kernels" and Ian was in charge of making the Starbursts look like melting pats of butter. I'm definitely making more cupcakes from this book - what a great activity!

As for the podcast.....I am so mad!! A week ago, I had the whole outline written and everything saved (I am anal about saving my documents every paragraph or so)...and, when I turned my computer on the next day, NOTHING had saved. Then, the power supply on my computer broke and now I have to start all over again. ARGGHHH! And, you know, this may sound silly, but I had written down all these witty (or at least I thought they were witty) things to say on the new show and, now, I don't know if I can remember them or think of something just as good. With my brain being what it is these days, it's hard to know when I'll be lucid or when I'll be saying, "You know, that thing!"....as the ManchVegas Knitters have witnessed many, many a time in my presence. (a shocking number of times, I must say)

Anyway, I'm back on top of things and should (cross your fingers!) be able to finish the podcast by Friday or Monday at the latest. So, keep a lookout! (and, remember, if you'd been having trouble downloading podcasts, just unsubscribe from it, wait a while (not sure why) and then re-subscribe and you'll have all the episodes correct and in order.)

One more thing....

Please check out my Lisha Lace Scarf pattern and consider investing in a copy. It's my first pattern that I've published myself (for any sort of profit) and I would love for it to be a never ending Ravelry knitting rage success. (This sounds pathetic, but....) It would make a great gift for a knitting friend...either the pattern and a nice skein of luxurious yarn OR buy the pattern for yourself and knit it up for someone you love. Either way, it's pretty cool.

You can buy it here, on my blog....(see Jackie's beautiful pic on the right sidebar) and the "buy now" button. And I'm trying to get it available to buy on Ravelry. See the link here for pattern details.

Let me end by saying, buy now thank you!

FO Friday: Icarus!

I am DONE!!!!



DETAILS:

Pattern: Miriam Felton's (genius!) Icarus Shawl
Yarn: Alpaca with a Twist "Fino" in the "Frost" colorway
Needles: Knit Picks Options Harmony, size 3, 24-32" circular
Time: January 11 - March 21, 2008 (working somewhat steadily)
Fun: A! (I can't say enough how much I loved, not only knitting this, but the end result. The charts were well made, pattern well written, the design is amazing and you always knew where you were when doing the lace rows. This is the first lace that I've ever wanted to knit again!)

*I know I shouldn't be saying this, but there is one mistake in my knitting. When I had to frog the 40 rows when I first started (I'd read the chart wrong for the center stitch), I picked up one stitch wrong and didn't notice it until I blocked it. So, on one of the diagonal "wings", there is a "k2tog" that is out of place. Oh, well. Besides that, I am THRILLED with it!*

Oh, and one more thing....when coming to the very last 2 rows, I ran out of yarn. (Story of my knitting life!!) I had hoped to use only 1 skein of the Fino for the whole shawl and thought I would, since I was so close to the end. But, alas, it was not to be. Look at this:



I only had this much...so, needless to say, I had to ball up another skein of Fino (which I had bought, just in case, knowing myself as I do). The cast off using a purled type method, which I hadn't tried before, was awesome and it gave the best, flexible bind off that I've ever seen. Must try that again sometime. Anyway, now I've got 90% of another ball of Fino to use for something else. That yarn is amazing and I'd recommend it HIGHLY to anyone doing lace....silky, didn't split, super soft and has a very slight, but beautiful shine/halo because of the silk/alpaca.

Wanna see more pics??

Here is the shawl before blocking:



Shawl blocking on my bed, looking mighty delicious:



A close up of the lace part blocking....boy, I love those flower head pins!



A pic of me trying to show off the lace part of the shawl....



A pic of the shawl feeling all lazy on the chair:



I think that's enough, huh? LOL!

I'm totally in love with this shawl and had such joy through the whole process. I didn't add the beads at the end, but I think I'll do that to the next Icarus that I knit. I'm sure there will be another one in my future.

What do you think?????

Oh, and before I go, I just wanted to share with you a picture of the pysanky eggs that Ian and I made years and years ago...ones that we put out each year at the Spring Equinox and Easter. Aren't they cool??



Have a very happy Spring Equinox and Easter!!!

Icarus Update...Almost Done!!!

I am SO excited! I finished Lace Chart #3 today on the Icarus Shawl. The muscles in my arms are killing me but, man, it was worth it!

I spent most of last night (after putting Ben to bed) knitting this chart while watching alternately "The Shining" with Tim and then "Lost" with Ian. I really need to get a better light in the bedroom. Thank goodness my yarn is white and the needle tips are dark.

Just to catch up....here is the shawl BEFORE I started the lace charts. (It is reeeeeally soft!)



So, now here is what it looks like from far away after 3 lace charts are finished....seems small, doesn't it? But, it will be perfect once it's blocked and I do still have one more lace repeat to go. (I think it's 24 or 26 rows. Ugh...I'm up to over 400 stitches otn!)



Lemme show you a close up of the lace. Some of it is knitted with purl stitches, so the opposite side has some variation of knits and purls, which I l-o-v-e. It sometimes gets horribly boring (and painful) to only purl across such a huge row.



I'm off to knitting group tonight...yippeee!....and I am relieved that I got the shawl on a lifeline before getting ready to go. Not sure if I'll bring it tonight. Chart #4 looks mighty intimidating and talking while doing lace is not always a good idea. You know what I mean?

Love the pattern (Miriam, you are a genius!!!), love the yarn, love the needles (KP Harmony) and this is my most enjoyable lace yet. I'm definitely doing ANOTHER lace project next!

Happy Knitting!

Winter White Icarus

I've been dying to show you my newest knitting project, but have been up to my eyeballs in everyday life responsibilities (the usual mountains of laundry, visitors, bills and cleaning...ugh!) to actually be able to blog about it.

But, I promised myself that, if today was snowing, I'd do my best to take time to post. And, HERE I AM!

I was inspired (aka corrupted) by Hilary to start the Icarus shawl. She bought some gorgeous Cherry Tree Hill Merino laceweight from the store last week for her birthday and started her shawl right away. Now, I WAS trying to be good and finish the three projects (Noro lace scarf, Wavy scarf and shop sample Phiaro scarf...hmmm...why all the scarves, I wonder?) I already had on the needles, but I've been dying to start this every since I saw Cayli's shawl a few months ago.

When Hilary brought her SIP (shawl-in-progress) to knitting group last week, I was just bowled over. Amazed. Dazzled! I immediately went home, took out the gorgeous Alpaca with a Twist's Fino in "First Frost" and balled it up. Oh, this yarn is wonderfully "cleavage worthy" and has just a slight halo from the alpaca and shine from the silk. Start drooling....now.

Here is what my shawl looked like after one night:



Here is what it looks like close up:



The picture at the start of the blog is how far I got after only 3 days. and now that I am 5 days into it (with only about an hour's work a day), it is about 8 inches tall and 20 inches (or so, hard to tell on circs) wide, unblocked. The pattern is extremely easy to understand and I can even knit on it while at knitting group or during the day with Ben. It's not difficult at all and, since the yarn is so pleasing to work with, I'm really loving every minute of it.

One other FO that I forgot to show you is a hat I knit about 2 weeks ago. Get ready for a PINK ATTACK!



DETAILS:

Pattern: Insubordiknit's Monster Hat Kit, "Hiya Cat"
Yarn: Jacey Bogg's Handspun and Handdyed single ply yarn in pinks and whites
Needle: Knit Picks Options size 9
Time: Only 1.5 days of knitting on and off, very quick knit.

I loved knitting Tim's Monster Hat and I begged Jacey to make me up a "Hello Kitty-like" kit. Isn't it great? It's a little big for me, even though I used the smallest needle size, but I knit loose. It's sooo warm and sooo cute!

One other thing....

On Friday night, after knitting, Blogless Amanda brought her new, adult size Hoola Hoop to show us and also demonstrate in the hallway outside the shop. I can't believe how fun it was to do it (though I was horribly spaz and only managed to do it with my knees) and so funny to watch others. Amanda said that it's great exercise, too. So....Lora has created a Ravelry group called "The Ravelhoopers" (I think...am I right?) and we're all going to make/buy our own hoops and then knit, then hoop. Though, at first, we won't be trying them at the same time. LOL!

Here's a great couple of pics of Heather doin' some hoopin'....with Jackie off to the right:



Go Heather!



Happy Hooping AND Knitting!

P.S. I put a Ravelry -along, called Amanda Hat Mania up on the site a couple days ago, so if you're on Ravelry and making an Amanda Hat, make sure to sign up for the group and also go back and link your Amanda Hat project to the group as well. I'd love to see lots of hats up on there by the end of week. Thanks!!