Birthday Cupcakes

No birthday is complete without cake, especially a first birthday, right?

So back I went to Elinor Klivans Cupcakes!, and baked up a batch of Sticky Fig Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Sauce.

They. Were. Divine.

Instead of using the suggested sticky brown sugar sauce to top the cupcakes, I decided to use a brown sugar seven minute frosting, Penuche Frosting if you want to get all fancy! This frosting is stiff enough to stand up to some piping, and had I cooked it just a tad longer, those peaks would not have slouched at all… luckily, even though they were a bit floppy looking, they were still glossy, very light and tasty. The gorgeous little liners were from Bake It Pretty,which added just the right little festive touch for our celebration! I made three small edits to the recipe; I made normal cakes instead of jumbo, I pureed the figs after they soaked, since quartered figs would be too much for a one year old to chew, and when it was time to remove the cakes from the oven mid way through to pour the sticky sauce on them, I poked the center with a knife, and spooned the sauce in the subsequent hole so it wouldn’t run right off the cake and onto the paper cups.

I even had some assistance making them up.

For the first time, she licked the beaters, so I suspect she will be quite excited to help the next time as well.

Advent Calendar

What do you do with too many baby food jars, some really cool tissue paper, and a can of spray paint?

Why, you make an advent calendar, of course!!

I wish I could say that everything I used I already had on hand, and had we unpacked all of my stuff we would have, but because some of it is still packed and stored, I had to buy some modge podge, some ribbon, the glittery stickers, and tissue paper. That made me a little sad, really, since this could’ve been a 100% buy nothing project, but regardless… recycled baby food jars!!!

I would also like to say that all the jars are filled, but alas, my computer crashed three times last week, taking my print file with it, three times in a row. Something about saving my file in Illustrator seemed to make my mac very unhappy, and I haven’t had the heart to try again. For now, we’ll imagine that these little jars are filled with time tickets a la Maya Made, which I thought was a beautiful idea. For a few months I’ve been wondering what to fill the calendar with, since our kids do not need more stuff, and with the baby crawling all around, little trinkets and toys are a disaster in the making. One of my most favorite gifts of all time was the gift certificate my mom made for me for a Mommy and Me dress-up and shopping date. What a beautiful way to turn the focus back to building those precious family moments together…

OK, so I think I’ll get back to work on that time ticket file now.

Sneak Peek

The birthday sweater, although was knit, buttoned, and all ends woven in, was not completed in time for the big day. It id get wrapped and presented, since it looks done except in my mind’s eye. There is some embroidery missing that I’m struggling to get “just right”. But the yarn and the pattern are so lovely, that I can’t resist sharing a peek… and those buttons!! Oh those buttons!!

Pattern: Baby Tiered Coat (ravelry link)
Designer: Lisa Chemery of Froginette
Yarn: CosySpins Hand-dyed Chunky Falkland Wool
Spinner: Cosette Cornelius-Bates of CosyMakes

Firsts

Today was the day we celebrated a major milestone… our youngest babe’s first birthday.  The older two are now of the age that they understand birthdays mean cake and presents, and they were both so very excited to prepare something for their little baby sister. How could I resist? I put them both to work on a few white t-shirt sleeves with “Mama’s Very Special Markers.” One was for our babe, and the other sleeve is for our baby cousin, who turns one next week.

Once the artwork was complete, I pinned it under a lovely little baby doll top, traced out a big number one, ran a running stitch around the outline, then cut out the interior of the number for a reverse applique a la Alabama Chanin.

Excuse the rather sloppy photos, as I’m still getting used to my new camera and didn’t remember to reset my settings from a previous experiment.

It really didn’t take too much time at all and since I had a few practice shirts over Thanksgiving (details coming soon) I was pretty confident that I could get it completed in time.

All done! For her number one!! I am so excited that we found a way to bring the other kids into the preparations this year. Not only did they help make the shirt, but the oldest helped bake the cupcakes, and the middle guy helped Daddy put together her wooden walker.

What a wonderful, meaningful day full of  joy.

Happy birthday, little one. You are so very loved.

A Collaborative Work

Some time ago, I joined a small knitting group from a small church where we began knitting small squares for the smallest of all members. This blanket is intended for a babe who shares a name with one of my own.

It was a few months of collaborative effort with novice and bordering-on-expert knitters alike.

Each stitch labored over in love, happiness, companionship, and generosity,

standing as a testament to the adage “many hands make light work”.

It has been sent off today, where it will soon be placed in the hands of a new mother to wrap around her son.

I will miss having the blanket around, as it was, for me, a symbolic thread connecting me to the amazing group women of which I was so grateful to have been a part. Thank you, ladies, for all of your kindness and compassion. I am sad to be far away from all of you.

And many blessings, little one, on your special day. May these stitches shield you from the cold and offer comfort in the years to come.

Big Plans

This is it. This is the month I am going to sew. And BOY! I am going to jump right with both feet in a serious way.

 

That’s the plan anyway.

 

I’ve been slowly accumulating fabric, patterns, and projects for about the past two years. A few things have gotten in the way but I’m kind of done with digging for excuses and ready to start creating. Two women have helped get me over the proverbial hump. First Rebeka at Artsy Crafty Babe created this amazing skirt from the Alabama Chanin book, which I’ve had on my shelf for about a year and a half or so. I am so inspired by their work; if I could find the extra money and time I would love to take on one of their weekend workshops. Something about what I saw in that book and on their site really got me going. I love the thought of using something as utilitarian as a cotton tshirt and creating such a wonderful peice of work. And the fact that it is all hand work, and not run through a machine seemed to make it that much more approachable for me. I came across their work as a result of an idea that I have for a memory quilt using my kids’ baby clothes in reverse applique, but that’s a post for another time. I have all the materials lying around, but before I saw Becki’s skirt, I hadn’t found the urge to dive in. Then Autum of Creative Little Daisy declared November as Sew Something Month. Well, isn’t that the perfect alignment of the stars? How could I not take up the challenge?

So here’s what I’m planning on sewing this month:

• One skirt, Alabama Chanin style
• Soft Cotton Duck storage containers
• Basket liners for the baby’s room
• Proof-of-Concept for the baby quilt
• This Apron from Sew Liberated

So hopefully, by the end of the month, I’ll have something to be shown from this mess.

Of course, I still need to finish a hat

or two. maybe three.

 

Unpacking? Who eeds to unpack?

Sweaters for Your Feet

Taking photos of socks is not as easy as one might expect! Well, for those of us who haven’t ever photographed a pair, anyway. Maybe this is old hat for some of you, but who knew how complicated it could be! Here’s a small summary of my first socks photo findings:

• Get rid of all dog hair and dust, both on the floor and on the sock. Check again. Check one more time. Then look again just for good mesure.
• When trying to get rid of said dust, it’s probably best not to use the sock as a temporary swiffer
• Don’t let socks slouch
• Figure out how to set the self-timer before setting up tripod (or in my case, a few legos)
• Make sure kids are asleep so they don’t remove the legos whole your back is turned
• Most importantly, stretch! Self sock photography is not for the weak… or inflexible.

After an hour or two of a rather painfully steep learning curve, I have some FO photos to share! So without further ado, here they are! My first pair of socks, Atlantis by Kirsten Kapur of Through the Loops.

I love them! I really do! I’ve actually worn them three times before I got them photographed and now the heels are looking a bit felted and worn (which is why I havent worn them more before getting pcis). I can’t believe I waited this long to knit my first pair. I’m sure you’ll notice, especially in this picture directly above, that the colorways are a bit off, but honestly, I don’t really care so much. My feet spend very little time side-by-side, and when they are, they are directly in front of me, up on the table, enjoying the quiet while I’m sipping some hot tea. As the mother of three, this happens so rarely that when it does occur, I can’t be bothered to get upset at something as minor as a color shift. And I’m certainly not going to point it out to perfect strangers while out and about! I’ve also made a mistake or two that I let slip, but just watch and see if I’m going to show you those

The pattern was a complete joy to watch unfold, and the Koigu was such a dream to work with. For me, it was an interesting exercise, as this was my first major lace undertaking–other than the little baby sweater I did a two years ago, but it wasn’t nearly so involved–as well as my first pair of socks. Definitely a steep learning curve with this project! Although the Koigu was incredibly soft and heavens-to-Betsy do I love the colorways, I beleive that I will try out some sock yarn with a bit of nylon to see if they hold up a bit better. The felting is definitely pronounced on the heel, although I imagine that it probably increases the strength of the fabric somewhat.

I did run into two issue while knitting. One was a small discrepancy in the pattern when it came to the number of stitches in the heel flap purl row; Kirsten immediately sent out a correction, although I have to say that it was such a minor issue that had I a bit more confidence I would’ve done as my instinct told me to and not worried so much. Also, on my first sock, there was a rather large gap / hole right where the last stitch, or is it the first (?), was picked up in the heel turn. See it below, that little stitch that looks all ready to give out and unravel at any second?

Here it is a little closer, right smack dab in the center.

I was able to correct in on the second sock following this tip from the TECHknitting, a really wonderful source for knit construction tips, if you haven’t been there yet.

Look Ma! No holes! Woo-hoo!

I think I’ve been bit by the bug… I’m not sure I’m going to fall prey to the second sock syndrome (famous last words, I’m sure), but I tend to like knitting a pattern more than once anyway, and by the time I finished with the first, I feel like I’ve just become acquainted with the pattern and that I’d like to spend some time getting to know it a bit better! So the second sock flew off the needle in record time. And it’s all so compact and easy to travel with! Now that I have a decent pattern holder, I see no reason to travel with any other project in my bags… well, maybe I’ll leave some room for a hat or two.

So! Thanks for putting up with me rather sketchy photos (I’m sure I’ll have better to show nex time ’round), and my long-winded post! If any of you are hesitant to try socks, I say jump on in! No time like the present to make some sweaters for your feet!

When Life Hands You Lemons and Too Many Adverbs

Or when a certain airline deems you need to sit in an airport for a few hours because there is no plane for you…

Might I suggest, casually, you call your husband to tell him about your delay, unless of course, your cell phone dies because the movers packed the cord before you had a chance to recharge. Then, I might advise finding yourself a lovely little irish pub for some boxty and Facebook (please note the all important coffee beverage within arm’s reach!)…

Until, predictably, your battery runs out because you smartly packed the power cord in the checked bag so as to save yourself a bit of weight in your carry on. The next step, obviously, is to grab your handy dandy butter yellow yarn and brand new knit picks needle set to whip up a much needed hat for the youngest child using a lovely pattern from a lovely book by and even lovely-er friend...

Unless you discover, naturally, that the cord that attaches the needles is much too long to knit your wee cap in the round (14″ diameter cap on a 16″ cord between two rather long needles = uh, not so much!). In which case, I would propose, that you find your gate and spend some time ruminating what you might use to shorten the cable (no scissors or lighters allowed, so no cutting the cable shorter and melting the plastic back together) or as alternative needles (chopsticks, anyone?) until you happen upon the idea that using two too long cables might work. I didn’t have two sets of number 4’s, so on each cable I attached one 4 and one 5 needle…

So as to make progress! Put these all together, add a dash of extra will-the-plane-make-it-or-not time, a few shakes of some horrendous rush hour traffic, and an hour of knitting recovery time at your new home to re-establish your sense of humor…

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.

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because, almost certainly, the hat will be entirely too small to fit your babe’s head.

My Creative Energy

The movers came and packed up all we had left with no space to spare…

and came to the new house to drop it off…

and unpack it all…

how nice of them…

to provide me such fertile ground…

for all of my creative energy…

for the next few months.

The Final Countdown

This Friday will be the last day that I will set foot in my house. The closing is not for a few more weeks, but once the truck is loaded and on it’s way I will say goodbye to a few, mostly dearly beloved friends before leaving at 4am to catch a flight back to our new, albeit temporary, home.

I had planned on a few more interesting, photo-y posts, but the past two days have left me quite drained physically and mentally as I direct packers and desperately try to tick of items from the ever-growing to-do list.

So I will be back with more interesting posts soon, but for today, I’m afraid it’s time for bed.

Or, rather, since all the blankets and sheets were packed, the couch…