This is a marathon, not a sprint

The good news is, I finished my Ravellenic sweater. It's fabulous. It was such a joy to knit, and I'll be talking about it more on Friday.

The bad news is that finishing the sweater meant I had to turn to my other daunting goal for the games: a beaded shawl. I had originally intended to knit a Laminaria, during a quick search after I purchased the yarn. I wanted something BIG and LACEY and easily beaded to suit the fine, beautifully colored yarn ($7 for 1200 yards. Can you believe it?!). I have no idea why I chose the Laminaria pattern because it wasn't easily beaded and frankly, it's not really my aesthetic, nor did it look easily memorized. So after realizing that I was really stalling on knitting this shawl, I decided on a quick change of venue.



Instead, I cast on for a Frozen Leaves and happily began. Not only is the pattern easily beaded, I got to go bead crazy. I'm opting to put beads on the center of the leaves of every other row on chart A, and i'll figure out what to do about the transition rows.

Again, I love beading. I hate working from difficult charts, but I looooove beading. This shawl is turning out to be the best of both worlds because two repeats in and I don't have to look at the pattern, plus I get to spill beads everywhere.

It's actually faster going than  I thought it would be- I'm working on size four needles, and it's producing a lovely airy product that almost looks good enough to leave unblocked. It's still going to be difficult to finish on time- I'm planning on making this extremely large to use up as much yarn as possible, so I still have a good chunk of yardage to go- which is why I spent all day working on it!

If you're not into yoga / If you have half a brain

Well, see, I made these really delicious cupcakes. I mean really delicious. They were so delicious I might have gobbled them all up before I even took a picture.



Just kidding! I took two photos. Then I gobbled them all up. How could I resist? They were pina colada cupcakes with oh my goodness, the best frosting in the universe. I could have sat there with a spoon, which is saying something, since I don't really like frosting.

The cupcakes were super moist and delicious. I wound up adding a bit more pineapple than called for because I wasn't paying attention and had dumped in half a can before I realized what I was doing. I think it actually could have used more pineapple and still would have been delicious, but I tend to add extra fruit in whenever I bake something with a fruity flavor.



I think these actually might have been my favorite cupcakes this year to date- definitely on my repeat offenders list. I can see it now... an entire party with drink themed cupcakes- root beer float, pina colada, and grape soda. I'm begining to suspect I should never have started studying accounting, I should have just started catering kids' parties.

A Slight Setback

My Ravellenic knitting hasn't been going as well as I hoped. It hasn't been going poorly, just not as quickly as I hoped. I finished the majority of my Brompton and promptly got sucked into a knitting black hole. I've been a few hours away from finishing for a few days now. I was hoping to make this post my first Ravellenic victory, but that's going to have to wait until I finish a sleeve and half. Maybe tomorrow!



In it's place is a project that was a challenge for an entirely different reason. My Saroyan was absolutely frustrating to knit. For starters, the yarn was gross, as I've mentioned before. It was so underspun and splitty that it honestly felt like I was knitting with a bunch of my hair. That wasn't really the gross part, though. This yarn pilled like crazy, and took nothing to break apart. Literally, I'd tug a little and it would snap in two. I think it might have also contained catnip because cats who normally care nothing about yarn (or alpaca normally) went batshit over it, which was even more frustrating because even the tiniest bat would split the yarn. I think I wound up weaving it over a dozen ends, despite only using two, knotless skeins. It also had horrible stitch definition, which made all of my hard work feel rather useless. I may eventually reknit the pattern in a yarn that shows it off better.



The pattern itself was easy to memorize, and would have been quick and enjoyable, had I not been forced to frog it several times. I wasn't entirely certain how wide to make it, as I don't have a scale to measure properly. I wound up ripping it out halfway through and doing nine increase repeats.



I really do like the finished project! Well, I did once I washed all the cat spit out of it. While I still don't like the sheen on the yarn, the color is a beautifully warm brown, and the coupling of yarn with the pattern remind me of a cozy fall day. I can't wait to wear it, snuggling up with some apple cider and a good book!

Killer Pancakes

Again, another book that I'm feeling pretty ambivalent about. I'm not sure if it's because I'm ready to move on from the genre, or if it was the book itself, but Killer Pancakes by Dianne Mott Davidson failed to grab my attention.

There was nothing in particular I could point out about why I never really was fully invested. Maybe that was part of the problem: it was so bland. It wasn't good, wasn't bad, just... bland.

It wasn't memorable either- I'm writing this a few days after I finished it and I'm struggling to come up with the plot. Beauty Counter drama! The lack of Marla, and emphasis on Goldie's appearance made the book lackluster.

I have one more cozy mystery checked out from the library, and three non-cozy mysteries as well. Hopefully that break will be enough to give me back my enthusiasm!

(Also: shortest review ever.)


(2/5 stars)

Pucker up!

I made something delicious a few weeks ago!

...And then promptly forgot to take decent pictures. Whoops. So here's a photo of my bestest friend eating it- not that you can tell what it is!



I whipped up a batch of no bake, raspberry lemonade cheesecake. Except I couldn't find raspberry lemonade anywhere, so I opted for pink lemonade.

Man oh man were these tart. Tart and delicious! I feel like I should make some sort of joke with that, but I'm refraining. Barely.

They were super quick- I probably spent more time looking for the nonexistent raspberry lemonade than actually making these. I can totally see using all sorts of concentrates to make different flavors. I can more than see it- they're on my to do list! I can totally picture orange cheesecake bars- I suspect they would taste like sherbert. Yum.

I'm not a huge fan of graham cracker crust, nor is anyone else I know, so I think I'll wind up using a nilla wafer crust instead. I'm practically drooling at the thought.

On another note: Ravellenic Games are going FAB-U-LOUS. Seriously. I think my sweater is going to take five second total. Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but it is going rather well!

50th Anniversary Cupcakes

A very dear couple to me (my adopted grandparents!) just celebrated their 50th anniversary. Could you imagine being married 50 years? They got married when they were both super young, and their still touring the country and kicking it. 

Mema*loves*chocolate, and because of some seriously picky eaters that would also be consuming the chocolate, I figured I would go with a standard chocolate/caramel combination. I used my favorite chocolate doctored cake mix recipe, of course. I seriously need to start investigating something new in the chocolate universe. 

I also used a frosting recipe I had tried before- just a basic caramel frosting. Nothing fancy. It didn't turn out as amazingly delicious as it did the first time, but once I smothered it in chocolate and caramel syrup, it tasted pretty darn good.

As a finishing touch, I decided to make some decorations in the form of chocolate. I basically tempered chocolate over a double boiler, then filled a frosting bag with a fine tip and doodled away! A little time in the freezer hardened them up, and they were ready to go! Unfortunately, I had a ton of chocolate left over, so it's going to be languishing in my fridge for a while. I'll probably wind up breaking off chunks and throwing them in cookies, or something.

All in all, pretty darn good cupcakes to celebrate a pretty darn good marriage!

In which I fall in love with beads...

 

Another project I finished ages ago! Eventually I'm going to start taking photos immediately after blocking projects.



Haruni was my first big lace project with beads. I had paid quite a bit more than usual on the yarn, so I was determined to make something spectacular with it. I think I managed that one pretty well.



Even though I'm not particularly fond of intricate charted patterns, I actually really enjoyed working on this project. Not only do I love the pop the beads give, but the yarn, Schaefer Yarn Co's Audrey, was so smooth and lovely. The body of the project was easily memorizable, so it fulfilled my mindless knitting quota. I love, love, love the slight ruffly aspect that the edge gives it. The finished object is so soft and cuddly, but the beads and silk keep it from being overly warm.



I had plenty of beads left over at the end of the project, which means I get to use them again. My favorites are the almost tarnished looking one. I love those muted metal colors- chrome, silver, etc. The beads wen fabulously with the color of the yarn. I wound up using wooliekim and haramis' notes on the placement of the beads, because I'm nothing if not a follower. I'm still struggling to find decent notes on bead placement for my Laminaria, so I might be forcet of venture out of my comfort zone, but we'll see about that. I'll investigate more later...



My only disappointment with this project is the color- in the skein and in the ball, the yarn was this gorgeous mix of white, gold, and silver. Knit up, it looks almost dingy. You can definitely see the different colors in the close ups, but as a whole, the colors are too muted to really pop when they're thrown together in the pattern. I still absolutely adore this project, and the yarn (which I will be rushing out to buy more of, as soon as possible, yum yum!), but I was hoping for a little more oomph like in the skein. Again, I love this project, I love this yarn, and I love this pattern. As soon as I get a properly gorgeous yarn, I think I'll be knitting it again, but without the center increase pattern.

The Last Suppers

I've been at kind of a standstill when it comes to reading. It's not for lack of books: I easily have about two hundred piled around my room, waiting to be read. And it's not from lack of time. I'm really not doing much else with my time, apart from playing chauffeur to my sister and arguing with various University departments.

In part, I think it may be that I'm disappointed that I still haven't received the second installment of the Booktown mystery series. I was extremely excited to listen to the next book, but was put on a wait list at my library. I haven't felt the urge to listen to many other audiobooks. Plus, I've been rather lacking in the inspiration department. I keep finding series of books to read. While I love exploring my favorite characters in new adventures, on some level, you need a bit of an intervention. I have yet to find a proper audiobook that will take me away on a new universe.

I'm also feeling a bit guilty that all I've been listening to and all I've been reading lately have been classified as cozy mysteries. I know that there's nothing wrong with reading what you like- after all I firmly believe that the purpose of books is solely for enjoyment. If you don't enjoy what you're reading, you're missing the purpose. Still, when time after time it's yet another quirky heroine solving a murder, I feel like I'm stuck in a rut. I need to break out of the pattern, at least for a little bit!

Finally, I think the biggest reason I've been avoiding reading has been that I'm stuck in a never ending book. While I ordinarily enjoy nonfiction, particularly when it involves mysteries and serial killers, I just can't get into The Devil in the White City. I know a good chunk of the reason is that it's a paper book- again, one of the two hundred or so covering every surface in my bedroom. It's hard for me to read paper books now that I feel the urge to knit at every waking moment. The other part is something I'll discuss when I eventually finish it. I know it's not an issue of the topic- I absolutely adored the episode the Stuff You Missed in History Class did on the murders, and the World's Fair is a topic that's been featured at my work for months now.

In any case, out of sheer desperation, I downloaded the audiobook of The Last Suppers by Diane Mott Davidson in hopes that I might finally resume my interest in books. After all, pretty soon I'm going to be much too busy to be reading as often as I can now.

This attempt to garner my own interest failed miserably. I felt myself tuning out of this book. While I still enjoyed the characters of Marla and Goldie, I couldn't keep any of the secondary characters in this book straight. The whole book revolved around Goldie freaking out, with entirely too much of a focus on religion. You didn't get to enjoy her relationship with her friends and family, and the whole bit about her hearing voices was rather disturbing. While I understood that she was going through an emotional crisis with the loss of her fiancee, that should have given Davidson an opportunity to stress the importance of Goldie's relationship with her family. Instead, it was a book entirely filled with inner monologue of someone anguished.

The mystery itself felt very much pushed to the wayside in favor of inner monologue whining. There were minimal clue finding and red herrings. It was just a dud of a book, in my opinion. I have faith that the next few will be considerably more entertaining. I know that my complete lack of knowledge involving Goldie's religion didn't help matters either. 

(2/5 stars)

Murder is Binding

Murder is Binding was a rather... interesting book for me to listen to. When I first stumbled across the concept, I adored it. A mystery book store owner solving a murder? How quaint! I quickly became bogged down in the actual book, unfortunately. I'm not sure if it was just my difficulty in relaxing into to the narration, or the writing, however.

Every time the narrator started to speak in anyone's voice other than Tricia, I felt myself wince. Angela became obnoxious to listen to, even though I felt that she was the most funny and interesting character by the close of the book. The male characters were similarly hard to listen to due to the narration.

In terms of writing, I felt that the author was... stilted at first, and didn't really hit her stride until the concept of Grace Harris' mistreatment was introduced. In fact, I had a hard time even convincing myself to play the book until that point. Once Grace was introduced, I was absolutely hooked.

I think my main problems with this book (apart from the quality of the audiobook. I'm still trying to understand why there was music that should have been featured in a play at the very beginning and end. It totally drew me out of the narration), were issues associated with the introduction of a new series. In a simple cozy mystery, I expect to have issues with characterization and world building when the writer is settling in, and this book was no stranger to these problems. They weren't, however, enough to significantly lessen my enjoyment. I absolutely loved the setting, and the mystery was interesting and not entirely predictable. The ending really sealed the deal in terms of my interest in the book. While I didn't see it coming, it wasn't so far out of reach that I felt it wholly implausible. I can't wait to listen to the next book in the series because I have a feeling it will be even better.

The high points of these books, besides the concept of BookTown (I so want to vacation there), was the introduction of interesting characters such as Angela and Mr. Everett, both of whom I'd love to take to lunch. Tricia herself was more of a shell of a character in this book, and I'm really hoping to see her develop more characteristics other than a grudging love for her sister. I was displeased that the ineptitude of the Sheriff wasn't addressed at the end, as I felt that it was highly unrealistic and I'm curious to see how it is handled in future books. All in all, I think this looks like the start of a great series!

(4/5 stars)

Overextending Myself

As I promised two weeks ago,, I'm spilling the beans about my secret knitting plans- and yes that's plural for a reason!

I'm one of those people who doesn't know moderation. I can't just eat a tiny piece of dessert; I need a big bowl. I don't sign up for a minimum course load at school; I sign up for the maximum. I can't just borrow one book from the library; I have to grab four or five. So when it came time for me to decide what to challenge myself with for the Games, I couldn't just skate by with something manageable now could I?

First up, a sweater.



This was my teaser from before. I wound up picking up a few skeins of the deliciously soft Louisa Harding Aimee a while ago when one of my LYSes was having a cashmere sale. While the amount of cashmere in this yarn is on the low side, I predict that the finished object- a Brompton will be deliciously drapey and comfy sweater.



After deciding on the Brompton, I convinced myself that it just wasn't enough. I wanted to make a lacey shawl while I was at it! After all, I find myself frustrated when I try to knit shawls during the school year. So onto my list came the Laminaria. The yarn was so pretty and I fell so in love with beading while knitting my Haruni, that I decided to throw some beads on top of that. After all, more is better, right?



Finally, I found myself stalling on knitting the matching booties for my pumpkin hat. Once I realized this, I also found a solution. What was merely added to my utterly impossible goals. I decided that forcing myself to knit them during the Ravellenic Games would be perfect. What's that saying about giving a busy person another thing to do?

In any case, at least I have a variety of knitting projects for different situations. I suspect that Laminaria will become my audiobook and audio podcast only knitting, the booties will be good for a movie or two, and the Brompton will have to function for everything else, including sitting in on my sister's various activities. At least I'll be prepared for any potential down time! I'll be knitting these under the Team Sasquatch group, as podcasts have long been my knitting companions.

I'm incredibly excited for the Games. I doubt I'll be watching the actual Olympic sporting events. I've  never been one for for sports, and the way the name debacle was handled left me with an extremely bad taste in my mouth. Not because of the existence of a cease and desist letter- I actually wholly support that, as copyright/trademark restrictions is "srs bsnss", but because of the blatant disrespect and hostility the wording of the letter contained. Anyways enough of the negativity. The point is that I'm excited for the competition and the challenge. I'm nothing if not enthusiastic!