Thug knitting

It's the weekend - and to celebrate I ordered the latest Interweave Knits from Angel Yarns. I was in there buying Addi Turbo metal straights to try out and felt I should make the postal charges worthwhile ...

That is if I don't receive a sodden magazine. I checked the Royal Mail's complaints page after last weekend's sodden yarn parcel. Their complaints page basically says tough pants stupid sucker we so sorry to you valuable customer!

In the course of my work I occasionally very rarely come across an official publication of interest to me. It was the publication of the Responses to a consultation on a Review of the British Wool Marketing Board. If you are interested take a look, there are some interesting points made.

Supporting local industry is important for Scotland in my opinion. I'd rather spend more and support local industry, than buy cheap and support corporations. Unavoidable in today's society, but every little helps in my opinion.



The boy sent me this. I love Banksy's work, and now he has illustrated knitters! Yay! I like it because although (as many non-knitters stereotype) it is older women knitting, they are rocking!

And that's about me for this post, except for this;
On the way home last night, dark, raining, stuck in nose-to-tail gridlock commuter traffic next to the railway line. My mind full of the myriad things needed to accomplish before saturdays stall, Christmas knitting, Japanese lessons, work stress etc. etc. I saw what looked to be the car wash building on fire - huge enormous plumes of smoke billowing into the sky.

... and then a slow-moving steam train chugged into view. A steam train! I don't know that I've ever seen one before - it had such a huge amount of smoke billowing forth and looking into the windows there were those little rooms for people to sit in.

It made me feel better about everything whirring around my mind, and made me realise that it's OK if I don't get everything finished - slow down...

(Only 3 hours and 15 minutes til I can knit again)

An FO!

The Hat-Shaped Hat! It is indeed hat-shaped! Or head-shaped... anyways - I'm particularly pleased with the top - it's exactly the icicly-snowy vision I had in mind. (See below post for pre-knitted up hat kit.)

And below ... yet more magazines [since this picture was taken I bought Simply Knitting... - I have a problem and I admit it. I, Elaine, am addicted to buying knitting magazines and cannot stop. There! I said it!




... and in other knitting news ... the project with the prettiest yarn that I cannot speak of is hard going well. Thanks to Rosie and my granny for their help explaining what happens when 2 strands of DK are knit together - chunky yarn. Too thick for what I have in mind, and so it is being knit in DK after all.

About 2 inches into it and I realised that the emergency metal needles [circa 1960s probably] that I had impatiently grabbed to cast on were leaving black marks on the prettiest yarn! Gah!

Bamboo needles and take 2.

The Harry Potter hoodie has been put down due to mystery project and also a sisterly request for a scarf for Christmas. Whilst I stated that I would never knit for a non-knitter again, my sister has lovingly worn the Noro hat I knitted her last Christmas and has shown the appropriate amount of gratitude to receive more knitted gifts.

(The boy is also not included as he is there with me every expletive step of the way and appreciates my efforts.)

My granny has recently joined the internet revolution and so I will state publically an enormous thank you! for the black out-sized cable-knit cardi that I desired a few years back in my 'gothy' student phase. It must have been a nightmare to see the cables in the black yarn, and as a non-knitter at that time there is no way I showed an appropriate appreciation for the efforts put in. I love it and still wear it! AND now I know how to wash it safely :-)

Hat-shaped Hats

I got my delicious hat kit - made to order by Lilith and some extra yarn. See above for finished hat. I love it - such pretty packaging! Look what happened to my extra yarn though! Standing outside in the pouring rain, pacing and waiting for my driving lesson and the Postie man arrives...

With a sodden packet, delivered exactly as photographed! I screeched 'Aah! My yarn!' in his face ... which made him think I was a raving lunatic and he turned on his heel; "sorry hen" drifting over his shoulders! *humpf* I didn't have time to pursue the matter as my driving instructor arrived.

I'm still uncertain about whether to tell the Post Office. I mean it was torrential ... and the yarn was OK once it dried. Still ... we should be able to write 'contains yarn' on a parcel and it should be assigned to 'Yarn delivery' which would involve arriving in a waterproof backpack worn by a fluffy tame alpaca.

My Weekend

Me and the boy were at Loch Lomond this weekend so not much knitting content.

I bought some stunning yarn online that I can neither photograph, nor rave about as the intended recipient is a reader of my blog.

I do have a couple of questions though - if a DK yarn is doubled up is it then an aran weight? If the suggested needle size is 3.75 for the DK is there a formula for knowing what the suggested needle size of 2 strands of DK? Or do I need to gauge and stop trying to find the lazy route out?

So I did do a bit of ballwinding as it arrived in 3 skeins - 350 yards per skein! I really really need a swift [hint hint!] as, although my ball winder has been described by a member of Glasgow Stitch n Bitch as the 'Rolls Royce of ballwinders', it is still sometimes hard going.

The problem is that a device such as a ball winder makes me want to go fast, but sitting with an opened out skein on my knees and winding from there forces a slow progress. Any attempt at speeding up results in the start of a tangle - especially with the fibre blend of this particular yarn for some reason!

It's hard going - the tangling of yarn, the slowness of winding, and the precarious-ness of the opened out skein on my knees, combined with a cat getting ready to pounce on my knees ... All of these make me want to grab the yarn and yank at the tangle, boot the cat and scream a murderous rage ... and yet I must sit there still, breathing deeply and calm myself. To do anything else will only worsen the situation.

And the closer I get to the end [as with nearing the final rows of a project] the faster I begin to wind - the tangling begins ... reign it in ... Slow down... 1 skein down, 2 to go.


No baking this week but a homemade cake none-the-less. This is a cherry cake from the Farmer's Market at Loch Lomond - we also got some Aberdeen Angus Beef burgers [Well Bred, Well Fed and Well Hung according to the logo!] and some Salmon.

Having a stall of my own has made me realise the importance of buying locally and supporting the community.



A view from the edge of the Farmer's Market, next to the Loch Lomond Aquarium [picture above of some jelly fish]. The Aquarium was fantastic - especially the otters. There's Mona, Rona and Shona [mum and 2 babes]. I was pretty indifferent to otters before - the boy once took me to the otter viewing park in Skye - over an hour in a chilly hut watching waves ... no otter was sighted and I took it personally.

Seeing them romp about up close and personal was amazing - they're so cute! Like wet kittens - they can open monkey nuts with their bare hands too.

The aquarium itself was one of the best I've been to - the displays, colour and lighting had all been so carefully thought out to give maximum impact. The Finding Nemo Kingdom was brilliant and there was a baby sting ray in with the sea horses - only born the day previous.

And that was my weekend. A day off yesterday to work on crafty stall stuff means my post is a day late.

30th October 2006

I have to think of more imaginative titles for my posts...
OK: 'I heart Yarn, I heart Yarn Magazines, and I heart knitting' will be the title of this post.

I had a lovely Stitch n Bitch meet yesterday. One of the members brought in a magazine called "Knit n Style". It contained an article called 'Mindless Knitting' about using knitting as a form of meditation. Now I've long been telling my doctor that knitting is a form of stress-relief for me. Whilst she agrees to an extent, she argues that yoga or meditation would be more effective as knitting is still engaging my mind and hands. Therefore it is not allowing me a total 'relaxation' - which I clearly need as I am 'highly-strung' to say the least!

I believe that knitting can induce a meditating effect - once I get into it I can start to drift and become lost in a zen-like state brought about by the repetitive action of knitting.

However, I never really thought about the projects I knit. Under the Hoodie for example - whilst being a stocking stitch hoodie - cannot induce a zen-like meditative state because I must remember not to knit too far, to remember the increases every 6 rows etc. etc.

What I need to do is have a project that is knit in the round with purl stitches - my favourite stitch. Perhaps with a thinner yarn, like the Artesano Alpaca that's been in my stash forever. Then whenever I feel the need to de-stress [those that know me will know that this is very often at the moment!] I can pick this project up and use it to unwind.

No iPods, no TV, no boy - just me in my craft room purling myself calm.

I can't find the magazine anywhere so far - I had hoped that Borders would still have some copies - but none left. If anyone has access to this article (or knows where I can get a copy) I would really appreciate a photocopy of it! I just got a quick read at the meet, and it wasn't really the place to totally absorb all the info.



On another note - following Threadless dropping his design - the boy has decided to join the ranks of the indie craftsters and has his own shop - selling 'I heart Yarn' totes, messengers, hoodies etc. We are thinking of buying 3-4 of the totes and selling them at the next Miso Funky market too!



This is what happened when I fell into Borders after Sundays meet looking for "Knit n Style" ... I've been wanting to get a copy of Bust forever and always seem to miss the window that Borders stock it for - but this time I struck gold! A brilliant magazine aimed at actual women, normal women. Including features like how to make an apron, how to gore up with make-up, lots and lots of indie adverts for Christmas shopping ideas and a "Ask Aunt Betty" for 'bedroom' advice that made me blush!

And hiding behind it, my favourite knitting magazine - Vogue Knitting International - yay! Haven't read through this properly but it contains the usual mountain of patterns to add to the 'in the queue' pile.

I don't even bother to update that portion of my sidebar anymore - there are so many works in the queue that it exceeds my life expectancy already!




Under the Hoodie continues - I am now onto the sleeves. I'm knitting both sleeves at the same time to avoid second-sleeve sydrome [a sister of second sock syndrome] and to ensure an exact match.

Thursday 26th

I received my copy of Yarn Forward this week. The good: Good articles and the best idea for a needle holder that I've seen - sew a strip of rufflette from a curtain to the inside of the fabric and pop the needles in there! Genius!

They give 3 yarn substitutes for each pattern "Cheap and Cheerful (under £5 per 100g)", "Mid-range (bet. £5-£10 per 100g)" and "Spoil Yourself (over £10 per 100g)" which is a fantastic idea!

Some interesting patterns, although nothing that took my fancy at the moment. I'm having a down-sock time but I think that the sock patterns could appeal later.

The down points were a bad choice of typeface and layout which could impact negatively on anyone with visual difficulties and also some image issues.

There were many photos of the patterns from all angles, which is exactly what us knitters need! However many of the photos were stretched and looked odd, making it difficult to see the pattern in some cases.

The shiny paper chosen gave the magazine a 'tabloid freebie magazine' feel. I'm guessing that this is not the image that the magazine is aiming for and a matt paper would have been a better (although undoubtedly more expensive) choice.

These however, are picky points on a fantastic start for this magazine! I can't wait to see where it goes and will be buying more copies.



Progress on Under the Hoodie from Stitch n Bitch [I have temporarily dropped Central Park Hoodie]. The front is done! I love the look of the overlapping neck although the pattern instructions had myself and some of the Glasgow Stitch n Bitchers scratching our heads.

"With RS facing ... cont across row, pu 24 more sts by knitting into the purl bump of sts already worked along right front neckline ..." pu = pick up

We eventually decided that the instructions meant to pick up the stitches straight along the row (parallel to coloured chest stripe] for anyone doing this project. The "along the right front neckline" bit caused the confusion ...

Onwards and upwards to the hood and sleeves!

Saturday 21st Oct

I had a lovely knitty day today! I got the wristwarmers above from K1 Yarns' charity stall at the Miso Funky market. An absolute bargain at £5 - I love them! The proceeds went to Childline.


I also made some decent progress on Under the Hoodie (from the Stitch n Bitch book), getting up to the neck shaping and beyond.



And I managed to score some Angora yarn from the K1 Yarns stall - 7 skeins for £3.50!! Wooooo!

I placed an order with Lilith for one of her fabby hat kits - ice'y/winter blue merino and grey undyed and snowflake charms. I can't wait, and will blog it once it is done.

Great day! Am floating on a knitty cloud :)

Long time...

It's been a wee while since I last blogged ... The start of semester really takes it out of me, especially this year due to a temporary promotion to desk supervisor. I'm getting migraines more frequently and falling asleep on the couch at frankly ridiculously early times!

I've also been busy seeing a friend from Melbourne (originally Glasgow) and learning Japanese in preparation for next years Japanese yarn/craft fest holiday...

Above is Hot Fudge Sundae from Cupcakes Galore - it has ice cream on top and home-made hot fudge sundae sauce dribbling down it - mmm! It was a fairly easy recipe this time [no more stir in bowl over boiling pan of water nonsense!] with an unusual addition of crushed salted peanuts. The boy likes these - I think it would taste better without any nuts.

But, unlike with knitting, I fear deviating from the recipe even a tiny bit as I am still very much in novice stages.

Below [sticking firmly to the pattern] is my progress on Under the Hoodie from Stitch n Bitch. I've finished the pocket! It was a total nightmare that nearly reduced me to tears & gave me a migraine breeze. Onwards and upwards!




Siyonara!

Tuesday 3rd Oct

WIPs here, WIPs there.
A row here, a row there.
Everything's plodding on - nothing's reached a blogworthy stage at the moment.

Instead I'm posting about a t-shirt that the brilliant boy has designed - see below - tis fabulous isn't it?

He designed it for a site called Threadless which is like a giant t-shirt competition that anyone can submit designs for. People vote and, based on this, some tshirts get printed up by Threadless and sold from the site.

So if you would like to see the boy's design being printed by Threadless then please join and vote! It has to get quite a high score in the first 24 hours to remain up for the full seven days, so if you like it spread the word amongst knitters :)
[To vote click the box below]

I would love for the boy to get the recognition for this excellent design - plus I really want one! I thought about doing it with the iron-on transfer sheet thingys but I'd much prefer a professional printed tee.

Kool-Aid Dyeing the Microwave Way Pt. 1

I spent the Holiday Monday dyeing some yarn that I've meaning to do for ages with Kool-Aid, for the Urban Mittens - so I decided why not take pics of my progress and do a tutorial-type post.

By the way Kool-aid isn't available in the UK [probably due to all the mean chemicals] but if you have an American friend they should be able to send you some.

(Also - this tute is in 4 posts as Blogger would never let me upload so many pics into one post - plus they would be out of order)



1. The yarn - I'm using Jaeger Matchmaker Merino Aran in Cream. It's a discontinued yarn, but any animal-based yarn will dye. Acrylic won't dye, but acrylic-blends might produce some interesting results ... I found that merino makes a much more vibrant 'glossy' yarn - Coarser 100% wool tends to make a more matt result.


2. Prepping the yarn - I halved the balls into 25g each - the microwave is better for smaller batches of dyeing. I used a bookshelf to wrap the yarn around and left the ball end in the kitchen scales while I wrapped until it read 25g, then I snipped and wound the rest!

It's very therapeutic sitting on the floor wrapping wool around a shelf clamped between your knees! I developed an interesting rocking motion that felt quite meditative (but probably didn't look that way!).


Then I tied the tops and placed them in a basin of warm-hot water for at least 20 minutes - during which time you can begin preparing the Kool-Aid!

Kool-Aid Dyeing Pt. 2

3. Preparing the Kool-Aid - some websites are very exact about this, but honestly - if you put a little too much vinegar, water, Kool-Aid etc it's still going to be OK!

I put 2 Kool-Aids in a pint glass and used a smaller glass (maybe third of the size of a pint glass) to add 1/3 glass of white vinegar and 1 full glass of warm water to the pint glass. This would make vibrant 'hot' shades.

If you wanted a more pastel effect I would go with 1 Kool-Aid packet to the same vinegar/water mix.

If you want the same vibrancy but a lighter tone than dilute with futher water and a splash more vinegar.

Some websites state there being no need for vinegar as the Kool-Aid has acid in it. As I can find no definitive answer, I figure that adding vinegar when it maybe wasn't necessary is less of a catastrophe than not adding vinegar and having the dye all run out in the first handwash as it hasn't set right... Experiment! See what happens!



4. Painting the yarn. Lay the yarn in a mocrowave friendly dish and pour the glasses of dye over it (or use a baster-type implement for more precision) I just poured - the dye tends to 'stick' straight away to the yarn, so there is little running of colours (unless you shuggle the dish or something).

Use the back of a wooden spoon to press the colour in, and pour more on if necessary. The image above (plus the top image) are to give an idea of how much to pour in - until the yarn is soaking and still sticking out of the water a wee bit. I don't know how clear my pics are in illustrating this though.

5. Dye me! Cover with cling film and pierce with a fork a few times. Bung in the microwave on high for 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and lift cling film (be careful - extremely hot steam escapes) if water is clear when you move the yarn with the wooden spoon then you are done! If not then let it sit for 2 minutes and cover and put back in for 2 minutes. Repeat until done.

Some websites say this process takes about 8 minutes, but mine was 2-4 minutes of microwave zapping - I have an 800W microwave.

If you take it out after 2 minutes and see bits where the dye hasn't taken very well then just pour more dye on and bung it in again! (This method is for variegated yarn dyeing only)

Kool-Aid dyeing Pt. 3

Figure A

Figure B

Figure C

So Blogger is totally not playing with the order of the pics ...

6. Out of the microwave (Figure C) - once the water is clear tip it into the sink and leave to cool whilst dyeing the next lot. Once the next lot is ready the 'sink yarn' should be cool enough to pick up and place on a plastic bag around the edge of the sink.

The reason for this method is to prevent felting - all the instructions I read talked about rinsing yarn in water the same temperature as the yarn. I have taps that run cold for a bit, then go roasting, then warm ... too many temperature variations could cause felting. I decided that cooling the yarn off then rinsing it in cool/lukewarm water in a basin was the safest way to go.

If you can get a consistent temperature then put the yarn in the sink and rinse by running the (same temperature as the yarn) tap water down the side of the sink and through the yarn. Don't allow the water to run directly on the yarn in case of felting.

PS - don't use ASDA bags because the ink transfers onto the sink surface and it'll take ages to scrub the writing off the sink and side!

7. (Figure A) ... finish scrubbing ASDA transfer off sink and lay yarn on draining board to rinse. Rinse in cool water (check yarn is cold to touch) - you could wash yarn at this point too.

I'm going to knit it up then wash it before blocking - the lazy knitter route!

8. Dry (Figure B) Hang out on the line to dry in the sun - or if you live in Glasgow (where it never stops bloody raining) hang on a drying frame indoors with a towel underneath. Mine took about 48 hours to dry.

Kool-Aid Dyeing Pt. 4

Et Voila!
"Oh I love my ball winder,
my ball winder,
my ball winder.

Oh I love my ball winder,
It is utterly great!"

That's my little song cos there's not much else to say in this final post, except to look at the Kool-Aid dyed loveliness and try and resist starting another WIP until I get the current mountain of WIPs at least a little bit under control.

To make me feel better - are there any readers out there who have a bigger WIP progress bar than me? Or am I utterly lacking in the ability to finish anything?

I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed making this little tutorial :)

My week

Finally Blogger has let me upload some pics! Above - I took a trip to HK Edinburgh at the weekend and came out with some purple Noro Silk Garden, some more Clover stitch holders and some Addi Turbos. I think I very restrained (because I was rushing as the boy was parked on double yellows in the next street)

HK Edinburgh was a really nice shop. What did it have that you can't get in K1 Yarns or Glasgow John Lewis?

Well...there was lots of Lana Grossa yarns, which I was really excited about. They were mostly man-made yarns, or man-made blends which didn't interest me much, but it was nice to see something new and different. There was also some lovely Louisa Harding yarns and lots of (Lana Grossa mostly) sock yarns through in the next room. Tonnes of books and magazines that were interesting.

They had some coloured aluminium needles in straights, dpns and circs which were so cool and they had made up the Rowan Tapestry scarf from this months Simply Knitting, which looked great.

The only disappointment I felt was that the prices of the yarns were all on A4 printouts at the end of the shelves. It would have been preferable to have them on the shelves under the balls, rather than having a to-and-fro to find out the costs - a small gripe, but when the shop gets busier people are having to squeeze past each other to check prices ...



My baking this week - Family Apple Pie from "The Beginnner's Cookbook" (I couldn't find it on Amazon to add a link) made entirely from scratch - pastry and all! It is delicious - the apples are from the boy's grand-parent's apple trees so I feel all Martha Stewart this week.

Especially as I had a huge Kool-Aid dyeing day on the holiday Monday (photos and tutorial to follow). A picture of a slice of the pie is at the bottom (as Blogger will not let me decide the order of my pics!)

Kathleen has mentioned that along with Cupcakes Galore there is also Cookies Galore - I think this may be my next purchase! Her Citrus Cream Stars look delish!


And finally, swap shop last night at the Glasgow SnB meet. I got some blue wool from Lilith and some fantastic 80s Vogue Knitting mags in exchange for some of my duplicate circs - they are so cool and include features like:

An intarsia Joker playing-card jumper
Matching outfits for child and Cabbage Patch dolls
A pattern for knitting a pair of socks at the same time - one inside the other!
An Elizabeth Zimmerman article
Some simply fabulous advertising, including a woman wearing a jumper in a pool all seductive and wet illustrating the brilliance of superwash wool. Who was the advert directed at exactly?

Another advert with the tagline "You haven't seen yardage like this since OJ Simpson : Nuturespun yarns"

And of course truely wonderful patterns - a lot are unwearable, however with a little adjustment could make fabby retro bags or purses.

It's quite interesting reading a magazine with no reference to the internet - the adverts request that people send in self-addressed envelopes with cheques to see the samples of their yarn - there was no other way for people to discover new yarns outside of their LYS than this. Now of course, we have the internet which is flooded with yarns, plus other people's opinion of how they knit up via blogs, forums etc.

I never realised how much I took the internet for granted - even if the site isn't an online shop, it is at least an information point for stockists of the makers yarns and a showcase for their prodcuts.

I love these mags! Lookout for the Joker playing card jumper coming your way!!

yum!

My weekend

A pretty pic taken on the way back from Inverness to Glasgow - I put my green-tinted sunglasses over the camera lense for more atmosphere [yes I was a bored passenger...] - pretty, no?


Oops... I fell into K1 Yarns and stumbled over the Twilley's Freedom Spirit. Am gauging for a pair of arm-warmers. I had a nano-second of sensibility over the current mountain of WIPs and settled for only 2 balls realising that I couldn't create another heavy-duty WIP with only two balls...

It's knitting up with a nice colour-change at the moment, although the yarn isn't very tightly spun so the stitches have a tendency to merge into each other as they 'spread out' over the needle.


Another summit-type shot - it broke the monotony of arguing over whose iPod was better [mine obviously!] to try and take photos with a camera with dead batteries. (Take batteries out, rub vigorously in hair to create static - camera operates for a further one photo. Repeat)

It's easier to win the iPod fight as a passenger by the way.



And finally, huge thanks to everyone who helped me with the arm-hole measuring problem [and also to Kathleen for the pocket-shaping problem - I can't face frogging back those 4 rows just yet!]

I even had an email of help from the Central Park Hoodie designer herself - Heather Lodinsky - a knitty celebrity!

It was obvious once everyone enlightened me of course - but for anyone out there who doesn't know how to measure an arm hole [nope? just me then?] - you measure straight up from the cast-off edge to the needle. Either by placing a needle across from cast-off end to cast-off end for guaranteed straightness, or by measuring from cast-off 'tip' straight up to needle.

Problems, problems

This week I've been working on "Under the Hoodie" and "Central Park Hoodie" - and I've hit a bit of a snag with both ....

OK - Central Park Hoodie - see my hand-drawn diagram below [click on the image to open a larger image, then click the image enlarge symbol appears in the bottom right hand corner]

The pattern calls for me to "work even in pattern until the armhole measures 8 inches" So do I:
a) measure from the edge of the piece (where the first cast-offs for the armholes began) 'as the crow flies' to the edge or,
b) curve the measuring tape around the armhole and measure this way?

My instinct is a) - am I right? The last thing I made armholes for (Bella - still a WIP) I just guessed...

Help!



And the 2nd problem : Under the Hoodie - shaping the pocket.

Those who know me and were at Tuesday's Stitch n' Bitch will know how proud I was of the ability to pick up the stitches for the pocket - thanks to Kathleen's help. Trust me, this was no easy feat - we're not talking just sliding the needle through the stitches of a knit fabric - there was more! Anyway - enough of that! My problem:

"Border Pattern for pocket (worked over 5 stitches)
WS rows: (K1, P1) 2 times, K1
RS rows: K.

Shape Pocket
Rows 1 and 3 (RS): Work 5 border sts, ssk, work [knit] to last 7 sts, k2tog, work 5 border sts.
Rows 2, 4, 6 (WS): P across, working first and last 5 sts in border pattern.
Row 5 (RS): Knit"

I'm 4 rows into shaping the pocket and I think I've done it wrong. For the RS rows 1 and 3 should I just be knitting 5 sts for the border stitches because that's what the border pattern RS row calls for?

Or should I be doing (P1, K1) 2 time, P1 because thats the border pattern in reverse? Surely they would have just put k5 if that was what the pattern meant?

Whadda been simpler to do that ... wouldn't it?

Anyways - can anyone that can clarify? Pretty please? It's wretched getting reined in by a pattern when I was galloping along.

Just as I was typing this post I got an email from Katharine at K1 Yarns - I need to go there ASAP! She has new stock including Freedom Spirit - I've been waiting for this to arrive plus new Noro colours! mmmm.... come on boy - pick me up from work so that I have time to get there before she closes at 6.30!

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

My first cupcakes in a while: Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes from Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman.

These are quite nice - but I've had better. The 'cream' bit involved constant stirring of mix in glass bowl over pan of simmering water again ...

It went little better this time. Instructions were to stir/cook until mix boils.

First the water evaporated ... much later [like 45 mins] ... I'm starting to lose it a little and overfill pan with more boiling water. Placing bowl in pan causes the water to rise over the pan, extinguishing the flame with loud 'hissy fit' noise.

I get water level right and place pan lid over bowl to try and encourage mix to boil.

Screams of "WHY WON'T YOU JUST [insert expletive here] BOIL!!!!" can be heard from a lower cottage flat in King's Park...

an hour of stirring ... "You are going to [insert stronger expletive here] boil!!!" ... I angrily spoon mix out of bowl and into a pan. Turn heat up full and glare at custard.

It wilts with fear and boils.

Tastes like semolina *sigh* am scraping mine out of my cakes.

The rest is delicious.

I won't be making this [or any other 'stir in bowl over simmering water' recipies] again.

Why is cupcake making fun again?

Progress

Progress on the Under the Hoodie [from Stitch n Bitch] and Central Park Hoodie [from Knitscene - Fall 2006]. I haven't got particularly far with either this week however I will be motoring on as from tomorrow.

Other news to fill the post - The Dulaan Project to which I donated some hats earlier this year has been extended to become an annual event.

The blog of the organiser of the Dulaan Project [which has a post about her meeting with the Yarn Harlot! amongst other topics] states that 12,085 items were received for the 2006 collection. 7,567 more than their goal - whoop! I love hearing when knitters give their all to their chosen charities.