I'm ready...

to be through with gift knitting, that is!

Unfortunately, that is not the case! Instead of ticking items off my list, it seems I have continually added on: the failed cowl that prompted a second, mitts that I should have added on earlier, mitts promised and not completed, socks so badly begged for and I know I can get away without doing for a while...but I have lingering guilt over...

But the do-over cowl is complete:Caera Cowl knit with Claudia Handpainted Worsted Merino
(look familiar IrishGirlie?
This is from one of the first destash skeins I ever purchased from you!)

Then this conversation:

Mom: "so...do you have that hat dad gave to LE to use for Halloween?"
Me: "Yeah, it's around here. I'll find it and give it back."
Mom: "...or you can maybe just knit him one!"
Me: "ok...lemme see what yarn he might like a hat from..."

later that same day after dad has looked through the yarn and made his hat yarn choice...

Mom: "And you can use THIS one for a scarf for ME."
Me: "No, I'm not making you a scarf with that yarn. That's one of my 'men's' colors and I don't have many 'men's colros'."
Mom: "...just a short scarf to go around my neck-but not like the ones that are a loop that you pull over your head..."
Me: "I'll show you what other yarns I have that will be better colors for you..."

And so, my mom who very well knows how to knit got me to commit to making her a neck muffler, too! The hat? Only about 1.5" into it. And another cowl I started for my bro's GF is almost completed. ACK! What am I thinking? Will I ever start on my Leyburn socks for the KAL?

And lookie at some of my Christmas goodies (knitting related ones!):

Shibui alpaca/merino and...my first STR spirit! Thanks Nartian! love (1000)!

And from Little Shit Disturber (LSD), my bud at work, I got this!


And thought I'd treat myself to this for the BMFA sale! I FINALLY have sock blockers!
And STR Jabberwocky lightweight!

And since I had most of my BMFA stash out, I decided to take a What Color is Your STR Stash palette:alot of the kit yarns were not included in this pic and I have a few other stray skeins around that didn't make it in, but it was interesting to see most of it. It would be more interesting to take individual pics and mosaic them for an overall look, but I just didn't have that kind of time tonight! I also left out the 2 Silkie STR and the two Merino/Tencel skeins...

BTW...cake is back! And my Completely Pointless and Arbitarary Group CAKE shirt is on its way!

Another project to add to the Christmas knitting!

Here's a cowl I made for my cousin's daughter:


Yeah, too big. Wide and squatty.

I mean, it wouldn't be bad if it were kinda folded in an elegant way and secured or otherwise clasped with a stick pin. But it's for an 18 yo. I really think she would not be into that look. I was really going for the snugger fitting cowl-look for her.

So I cast on a new one and hope I get it done on time. I have a boy's hat to knit, too, but somehow I think I can get away with the promise of one and knit it later.

And I did it again! I forgot that our WoolGirl sock club (final shipment-boo hoo!!!) was sent out! Oh...lemme do a spoiler warning, in case someone might care...



SPOILER ALERT!!!...

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(I'm so proud I thought to do that! But then again, if you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, you know how I feel about spoilers...the more the merrier!)



Here it is-the final kit!

HazelKnits yarn in "Whispering Pine" colorway, "Pine Cone" pattern,
calendar, a case of awesome"Specially Made by" tags,
a cute, cute leaf stitch marker
...oh-and chocolate!

I love this leaf marker so much that I wanted to take a pic up-close...blurry and I was too lazy to back off for a clearer pic and crop. Oh well. Sue me!


So guess what I was compelled to make yesterday? Homemade eggnog!!! It came out a bit custardy taste-wise, but I think it just lacked that imitation rum flavor that is usually in the stuff I get. So later in the day, I added some rum to prove my theory. It was right.

I so heart eggnog! I forget that my bud, Purple Rain Knitter stalks my blog. And now that I'm on Facebook, she stalks me there! So she gives me an eggnog scone last week! DE-LISH! LOVE! I had forgotten that she actually does see some of the crazy things I 'say' out here in cyberland!

OH...And another item added to my 'to do' list? Knit or crochet a pink and white cake!

IrishGirlieKnits pointed me in the direction of the "Bring Back the Cake" group over at Ravelry. So I now have a Winter Break cause to work on, now that elections are over, there are no outstanding PTA or PPS (Parents for Public Schools)-though everyone's goal this year is 'Closing the Achievment Gap"..., etc...

So I had NO IDEA the cake was gone! How long had it gone missing, I don't know...Apparently a 'bug' in the system, but Casey is our Ravelry God, and all things point to Casey!

Background:

For those of you non-Ravers (or maybe those who just plain weren't aware!), programmer/owner Casey (over at Ravelry, the Knitting and Crochet On-line Mecca) had programmed in these wonderful little icons that would pop up whenever a specific order of letters were posted. The first one I became aware of, and certainly quite the icon of icons (well, except that Killer Rabbit had me going for a bit...) was the cake. "Cake" is quite a cool word since it can also apply to yarn, not just food!

I LOVED that cake! I went crazy over finding out about that cake! Then I learned there were many more icons that would magically appear when the correct letters were put together: wedding cake, pinot noir, tea, hot chocolate, gingerbread, candy cane, hot dog, hamburger... Well, apparently the cake is gone and we can no longer phathom up that piece of cake! I;m so sad and so are many others. Enough so, that the Rav group aforementioned was created.

Thank you, IrishGirlieKnits for knowing I needed this support group!

And here is my current Ravatar:
Let's all hope that the cake returns because..."It's no party...without CAKE!!!"

So what of this new project added on? Glad you asked! I will be participating in the cake KAL/CAL and make a piece of cake to send to Casey! There is a "Let them Knit Cake" pattern and a "Birthday Cake" crocheted pattern to use. Not sure which I'll do. But definitely not til after Christmas...

It worked!

A quick pause from this evening's activity (more on that in a bit) to show you what I completed this morning:

I re-sized the Malabrigo Loafers to make a pair for Lil Emperor-and it worked! Here is a pic of the first one (adult small), next to Lil' Emp's. Of course, the trick is knitting the second one. I did write down what I did; I just know it was off a bit numbers-wise, but I continued more instinctively than mathematically. I think I have the shaping in my head fairly well now, which is why I can't wait too long to get the second one done.

But first-I must get through my task at hand! I might not be up these wee hours of the night, if I had not worked on finishing the mini-loafer, but heck-who am I kidding?! I'd still be up because...tonight is the night that I drag out my cake pans, dyes and other decorating goodies so that I can justify all my past purchases and cupboard space! It is time to make the Annual Cake. Yes, folks, it is that time of the year again: Lil' Emperor's Birthday! Last year was the 'big' "7 on the 7th"; this year, I had to explain to him that he was not having a huge party when he reminded me on the last day of school that, it was the last day of school and that he needed his invitations!
Me: "What invitations?"
LE: "YOU KNOW! The ones for my party! I need to invite my whole class except for..."
Me: "What do you mean except for ____?! Anyways, I thought we'd do a smaller party this year."
LE: "OK, I'll invite just the boys and one girl...""
Me: "And which girl would that be?..."

And so the conversation ensued. But in this time, I get him to agree that a small party with just the few boys whose parents I am in contact with would be an acceptable party for him. And yet here I am, still doing the cake (a down-sized version of the usual double-layered 4' high 1/2 sheet plus 3-4 dozen cupcakes...). This year, it is a stacked 1/4 sheet (which I guess amounts to a 1/2 sheet!) with a 'Pokeball" on top. Yeah, Nartian knows the kid is seriously into Pokemon, as her Monkeys had to endure his chatter and banter and imposition of Pokemon on them for a whole ferry ride and more when we were up in Washington for sock camp!

LE dictated chocolate AND vanilla cake...he approved a marbled cake, which made it much easier for me! I sliced a 1/2 sheet in half and am stacking them into a double-layer 1/4 sheet cake. The 1/2 domes will be a "Pokeball" on the cake and miscellaneous extra eats!

So the crazy thing about dying icing is that it is very difficult to get a good red. The only good red dye available for food got banned years ago-yeah, same red as was/is? used for marachino cherries! Apparently, once notice was given it was no longer going to be sold, I guess the marachino cherry people stocked up on it. I guess the ban was maybe on being able to get the dye versus using it? Anyways, I can't recall...I learned that years ago in my Beginning cake decorating class! I was also taught that it is difficult to get a good black, too. But I am happy to report that I used a more recently purchased black decorating dye and got a decent black. Maybe black dye options have improved? Or maybe having this knowledge, I added a huge amount of dye paste to a small amount of frosting which addressed the issue from the start. This particular 'black' has a purply undertone. Blacks will either have a purply or greenish undertone cuz you can't get a straight black.

So here is a pic of the massive amount of frosting I made. "Decorator's icing"--very fluffy, no? And a heck of alot of calories, too!
The cool thing is that it gets all fluffed up with air, but smooths out nicely after you kinda let it 'settle', then mix it up, thinning with a bit of water. This is serious decorator's icing-old school style.



Like many of my hobby/interests, I don't get into them half-assed. I get all serious into them, yet somehow never serious enough to become advanced. With cake decorating, I stopped short of airbrushing. And I did notice a blown sugar class being offered when I was at the store today; it has been cancelled but when it gets rescheduled, I am seriously thinkin' I need to be there! Anyways, I did 'graduate' from Sugar N Spice's cake decorating series-yes, I took Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. Plus I took a chocolate flower class, Gum Paste flowers, and South African Wedding Cake decorating. Yeah, serious! This wasn't pastry chef Culinary Academy, nor was it Wilton's. This was secret-society professional cake decorating variety!

So about that red dye--getting a good red is difficult, which means you need to use a s--t-load of it to get anything close. And it will still be quite pink! And it will give the frosting a slightly different taste. And it seems that no matter how hard I try, the paste is able to magically creep its way up whatever implement I am using to scoop it out or mix it into the icing. So now my fingers are a magic red color-probably look more red than the icing, actually!

Yes, there is a reason I only do this once or twice a year! And a reason why I'm finding the yarn dying much more attractive!

And for kicks, since other bloggers seem so much better everyday-what-am-I-seeing life photos, I thought I would show you a piece of my yesterday...

It was the Fillmore Street Fair! And I had to bring Lil' Emp to his basketball clinic only two blocks away! What this means for me, folks, is that I got to drive around for 15 minutes looking for a parking space! The good news is that I did find a good space (no time limit, no meter!), but it's absolutely all about timing; hoping that someone will be leaving at the right time just as you are placed in the right position to get that parking space! And under 15 minutes sure wasn't bad for a day like yesterday-especially when my friend said she had to wait 'forever' just to get into the paid lot!

So this was in no way a quick post, but it got done between mixing, coloring, decorating...So tomorrow morning-the finishing touches--adding the Pokemon characters and the candle! Oh crap...still need to fill goodie bags! Luckily there will be fewer kids, but I found out my cousin will be coming with their 3 kids, so add on a few more! Now I really gotta go!