Pushing up Chrysanthemums.

Just a quick something, as the day is almost over and I'm ready to just relax.



I cast on for my Prismatic Scarf for the umpteenth time today. I bought my first skein of the yarn over the summer, and immediately found the perfect pattern for it. I decided after trolling through quite a few projects to do the no purl mod, as clarified by texturedknitter. Unfortunately, my wee little brain couldn't seem to get a grasp on the pattern. After frogging quite a few times, I finally put it aside for more exciting projects. Well, that and because I knew I'd have to buy another skein to get a decent length scarf and that wasn't something I wanted to contemplate.

Fast forward a few months when I made a rather embarrassing discovery. Oh, you know the one. The one where I realized that the clownbarf yarn I had been despairing of, was actually the same colorway as my new yarn for this scarf. AKA, Manos del Uruguay Maxima in the colorway Chrysanthemum. Yeah, well that put some pressure on me to start on the scarf to make sure I didn't hate this batch of the colorway as much as the last.

Thankfully, I don't. After watching Sherlock Holmes II (and get even more anxious if anything to read more of the books and watch the new show), I churned this much out. I rather like it so far. Thank goodness. I about went insane trying to get rid of the last batch of ugly.

Salted Caramel Bliss

All of you chocolate lovers, be warned. This cupcake will make you cry.


Can I just say, this frosting was the best. Seriously. I could have (and perhaps did) eaten it with a spoon. These are the last cupcakes for my mom's birthday, since she specifically requested that I make something choclatey for the people who don't like strawberry. Whatever. Since my dad likes chocolate and coconut, it made the recipe selection pretty simple. These are Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes with Salted Buttercream.

I can see the tears beginning to fall.




As I've said before, I'm really not a chocolate person, so if I make these again, I'll just be using a chocolate cake mix with some coconut thrown in. I'm lazy that way. But then again, I use cupcakes as mostly a vessel for icing anyway.

This icing? SO FREAKING GOOD. The best part is that it's made with caramel topping. Super simple, super delicious. Since time was of the essence while making these, I wound up skipping the home-made chocolate sauce and just used Hershey's Syrup as a garnish. It worked out fabulously. According to my SO, this was in my top five cupcakes.

Go. Make these today. You won't regret it.

Get Yer Lasso Ready

Okay, this should really be called "Frogged Object Friday". I knit this up eons ago, and it's been languishing in my closets until now.



From the moment my eyes met the computer screen, I fell in love with this project. I don't know if it's the color, the puppy, or the fun stitch pattern. I just loved it- and I just had to make my own. Armed with the same yarn and needle size, I cast on my with a fell swoop and knit up a Wild Vest. I had never seamed shoulders before, but that didn't matter. I had never done daisy stitch before, but I managed. I had never actually finished a garment, but it was all good. Finally, I had never picked up stitches before, but that would be a breeze, right?



Well, it was. Except the pattern doesn't take into account the drastic different between the loose daisy stitch and the tight ribbing on teensy weensy needles. The result is a ribbed bottom that gets hidden under a roll of daisy stitch. it looks like a muffin top, and is hardly flattering.

There's also the looming mistake. I'm sure you can see it. It's leering at you. Right there. It's plain as day... except I failed to notice it when I cast off. I wound up with a completely unwearable garment that I kind of hoped never saw the light of day again. My hopes were changed when I used my leftovers to knit an All Day Beret and found matching scarf and fingerless mitts patterns. My hideous muffin top vest was saved! Or rather, the yarn was. I tediously tore out the entire vest and am now in the process of working it into a much prettier result.

Thankfully.

Club Dead

After breezing through the first books in the Southern Vampire series, I started Club Dead with rather low expectations. While I though the ideas behind the previous book were excellent and innovative, the actual writing left quite a lot to be desired. At times, they greatly resembled porn written by a pubescent girl- not really the most appealing style.

This book really started to turn the tables for me. Perhaps it was because for once, we get to see a character actually care about Sookie. Perhaps because there was little to no Bill (who I adore/d on the show but am very annoyed with in the books- even when Sookie is head over heels). Maybe it's just that Charlene Harris is finally improving her writing style. At any rate, I actually genuinely enjoyed this book, and I'm incredibly excited to read the next one. I can barely wait for it to come up off the hold list at my library.

This book marked a great change from the previous in that there was little to no graphic romance scenes, which frankly, made me quite uncomfortable in the previous novels- more because they were poorly written than because I'm a prude. This book neglected that aspect of the story, for which I'm really glad. It also helped flesh out more of Eric's character, and gave more backstory in terms of the universe Sookie is living. I loved that the solution to the problem plaguing Sookie for the second half of the book had a surprising end. Even though it was incredibly obvious, I didn't see it coming. I also loved the introduction of Alcide- it was nice seeing more supernatural beings. I was a bit disappointed that the show seemed to go more in depth with the various vampire courts, but I do recognize that delving into such things in that book would have significantly deviated from the overall plot. Finally, I think the best part of this book was that Sookie did step up for herself. Not only did she do the primary ass-kicking in this book, but she also stood up for herself in her relationship. Despite the fact that she's clearly still in love, she at least grew a backbone and acknowledged that she wasn't being treated as well as she should of.

This book really made me start to recognize the potential in the series- and not just for the ideas. While little aspects of Harris' writing style still annoy me (really? Word of the day calendar?), she's definitely improving in technique. I can't wait to read more- though the next book is when I stopped watching the show- spoilers, eep!

(4/5 stars)

Jump, Skip and Hop away...

It's Leap Day! How many people can say that they've blogged on Leap Day? I don't actually have a lot to write about- or a lot of time, so instead, a photo.

Since this is a completely arbitrary and silly day, here's an (old) arbitrary and silly photo.



I wish I could say I was doing something exciting today, but I'm not. I'm working all afternoon and evening, and then probably scarfing down everything and sight and passing out. It could be worse!

Strawberry Buttercream- Heavy on the Butter

This is another cupcake from my mom's birthday. This one, suprise surprise, was a vanilla cupcake with strawberry frosting.


The vanilla cupcake was delicious! I used Bakerela's yellow cake recipe, and I'm so glad that I did. It was most and buttery. According to my mom, it tasted like a sugar cookie. Considering she managed to demolish an entire cupcake before I had even started frosting, this was a pretty significant compliment.



I had my best friend ever helping me out, so she made the frosting and decorated. Since this was her first time using frosting bags, we opted to use some non parleils and pink sugar to pretty them up even further. She was supposed to use my favorite strawberry frosting recipe ever, but wound up accidentally putting in an extra stick of butter, so they turned out to be "strawberry buttercream- heavy on the butter". Still delicious, just not very strawberry-ish!

Along the Shore

This project was in my queue for such a long time, it's rather pathetic. The first time I saw the Cable Braided Necklace, I fell in love. I haven't come across to many knit jewelry patterns, so this one caught my eye right off the bat. I also loved the construction- I couldn't figure out how on earth it was knit until I actually read the instructions.



This project was so simple. Seriously, you knit two strands with random eyelets and that's about it. The most complicated part was seaming it at the end, and really, you can't get much better than that. I churned this out during Puppy Bowl, that's how quick it is.



I knit it up in a beautiful colorway of Mini Mochi, and it hardly took any yarn. Now I'm just trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of the skein, as it hardly made a dent. I knit 18 repeats, and it turned out rather larger than I had hoped. If I make it again (I have a feeling I will- what a great use of leftover yarn!), I'll probably only knit 14, to make it closer to flush at my neck. As it is, it has a tendency to turn on the side, rather than lie flat. I still absolutely adore it. The colors are fabulous- it remind me of walking along the beach at dusk. The yarn is deliciously soft, but very prone to breakage. It does not frog well at all. I think it would be lovely in a shawl, but I would be hesitant to use it in any garment, as it is so delicate.

Overall, I'm really pleased with this project! I've worn it more than a few times already.

Heat Rises

You know, it's funny. Heat Rises seemed so much different from the other books that "Castle" supposedly wrote. I highly suspect they got a different ghost writer. The book was entirely more likeable than the other two. The characters didn't seem as poorly written, the innuendo and banter was well played, and the action was thrilling. The plot really hit me hard, as it paralleled the television show so closely. I also noticed the subtle nods to the show and to Nathan Fillion more readily than the previous books.

The writing felt like Castle. It was silly for the most part, but serious when needed. There were horrible jokes, and Beckett's deadpan really shone through. I loved the whole saga of Heat's attempts to gain Lieutenant, as well as Roach's care and consideration for Heat. All in all, I absolutely adored this book. I cannot wait to see what ABC has planned for his next book, because this one was a stunner.

My favorite part? The description and title of the book Heat was reading at the end. No spoilers, but it really made me grin.

(4/5 stars)

Monsterlicious

I'm sure my whining about the horribly ugly, orange-ishly variegated yarn I have in my stash is far from anyone's memory. There's no need to remind you of just how annoyed I am at not being able to find a proper project for it. This weekend, I finally had enough of it. It had been staring at me for far too long in my pile of nice fiber. I'm telling you, that yarn is absolutely evil. And what is the best thing to do with evil yarn? Why turn it into a loveable monster of course!

I yanked out my copy of The Big Book of Knitted Monsters and promptly cast on for a monster. And then another. And then another. Good god, will this yarn ever end? I think I should be able to finish off the third monster and not have leftovers.

Unfortunately, even in monster form, the yarn is still as ugly as ever. Rather than be content to have some deeply terrifying monsters hiding in my closet, I decided to bite the bullet and try my hand at overdying. After consulting the What a Kool Way to Dye group on Ravelry, I determined the consensus was that any color would be an improvement. Tomorrow, when I hit the grocery store purple, green, and red kool aid will somehow find its way into my cart and these unstuffed monsters will be getting a bit of a bath.



Baldwin, I assure you, cannot wait.

Strawberries and Buttercream

Oh dear, I really haven't done this in entirely too long. I made these for my mom's birthday way back in the beginning of January. She specifically requested three types of cupcakes, so here's the first.



For someone who gave birth to such a sugar addict, my mom really isn't huge on sweets. She usually only eats a bite or two of whatever sweet things I make, and leaves the rest. Last year, she requested Creme Brulee: amaaaaazing! Though a plastic bag did wind up lit on fire by a certain someone who was supposedly showing me how professional chefs use the torch.

This year, her first request was for strawberry cupcakes with a vanilla frosting. Why not strawberry frosting? She thought it would be too overpowering. I think she's crazy, but whatever. I originally intended to use the Martha Stewart Strawberry Cupcake recipe in her cupcake book, but quickly realized my copy of the book has disapppeared into the ether. Instead, I trolled pinterest until I stumbled across this recipe from Apron of Grace.

They turned out super moist and delicious! I'll definitely make this recipe again. Even though it was a bit more labor intensive than I usually do for the actual cake portion of cupcakes (I prefer to spend my time eating batter and frosting doing fun fillings and creative flavored frostings), it was definitely worth it.



For the frosting, I wanted to do something special. I wound up using just a basic buttercream recipe (I'll include it in the bottom of this post), but I used Wilton's foodcoloring and normal food coloring to turn it pink and grey. After a giant fiasco with seran wrap, I just shoved gobs of the colors on opposite sides of the frosting back and went from there. About halfway through, I ran out of frosting and was running out of time, so they weren't all this pretty. It was definitely a fun change of pace from my usual frosting technique. I'd love to try this with more than two colors. Maybe next holiday...

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Basic Buttercream Frosting

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• 1 cup softened butter


• 4 cups powdered sugar


• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract


• 2-3 tablespoons milk

Beat butter until pale and fluffy, then slowly add in powdered sugar and vanilla. Add milk one tablespoon at a time, until you achieve desired consistency.

This is the basic recipe I use for most of my frosting- I play around with ratios when adding other flavors. For example, when making the grape soda cupcakes, I used 4 tablespoons grape soda, rather than vanilla and milk. Yum yum yum! For these cupcakes, I just left it as basic vanilla buttercream, as my mom requested.