Happy Birthday Bob!

Bob is the single biggest fan of my baking. Bob is one of the couriers at the lab I work at, and I guess you could say we have a special relationship. I make fun of him for being old, he pretends to be deeply offended; this is the basis of our special friendship. Anyway, Bob is a hound for treats. If there are cookies or cupcakes, he'll have two or three (and sometimes pretend it's his first). Well, the first time I made black-bottom cupcakes for work, he just about cried with joy, and he's been raving about them ever since. When he says things like, "those cupcakes will change your life!" and "if I were about to be put in the electric chair, I would want your cupcakes as my last meal", how can I resist baking for him? Now that his birthday has rolled around, I'm making his favorites once again.

Black-bottom cupcakes consist of a chocolate cake with a dollop of cream cheesy goodness on top. I have decided to abandon the dolloping method for next time, and instead squirt it into the batter with a pastry bag set-up. I think this will achieve more of a "peeking" effect of the cream cheese on the top (as opposed to taking over the entire top of the cupcake) and having more of a filling effect (like a Hostess cupcake - one of my favorites!). This batch tasted darn good, but I was disappointed with the way they looked. I still garnered compliments though; one co-worker deemed them the best cupcakes I've ever made and Bob surmised that "they were made by an angel in Heaven". That's it - Bob gets cupcakes for life!

Here is the link to the recipe I use:
Black-Bottom Cupcakes from Every Day With Rachael Ray February 2007

Birthday Bauble Bracelet

My mom is like, a master of beading. Seriously. She has an amazing eye and does awesome work. I hope I get a piece (or two) for Christmas. Now, I enjoy beading, but I don't seem to have the creativity necessary for putting beads together in an aesthetically pleasing fashion. I'm very good with patterns though; I achieve much better results when I am told exactly what to to. Perhaps that's why knitting is my forte (except, as you already know, if I attempt to deviate from the pattern). A while back I found a pattern for this fabulous piece called Bauble. Bauble looks very intricate and labor-intensive, but it's really just a long (about 4 meters) strand of beads that is knitted, and then grafted to create a bracelet. My mom's birthday was on Tuesday, and I thought she would just have a fit over this, so I made it for her. Sadly, at finishing, I snipped the wrong end of cord and nearly ruined the whole thing. I could not complete the grafting step properly, so I just fudged the seam, but it's not easy to tell unless you're a real perfectionist like myself. I did show it to my mom in its incomplete state, then brought it home to fix it. She's so excited to get it, and I can't wait for her to have it. I mailed it off today, along with Ayana's sweet little hat. Oh, the joy of giving the perfect gift!


By the way, here's the link to the pattern:
Bauble: Knitty Spring 2007

Babies on the way!

With the imminent arrival of numerous babies (people at work, my cousin, friends), I have decided to whip up some baby hats as gifts. Of course, I struggle to find the perfect pattern, and the one that I really like is for a 6-12 month old knit with a super-bulky yarn. Now, I have a heck of a time changing up patterns (i.e. yarn changes, needle size, garment size, etc.), so I am experimenting a bit with this pattern to get it just right for a newborn-3 month old baby. After contemplating colors and fiber, I chose this Lion Brand Organic Cotton in a creamy color and Bernat Cottontots in a dark pink. Both are 100% cotton and super soft. I loved the effect that knitting them together as one strand produced. But alas, it turned out too big for a baby, and instead of ripping it out and starting again, I'll send it to my sister's three-year-old buddy Ayana. But first, I think I'll add some ear flaps with i-cord ties to finish it off. And before I try getting the size right again, I'll buy a baby doll as a sort of head model - hopefully I can find one at the thrift store or the swap meet.

The creative wheels are a-turnin'...

If I had a buck for every time I uttered the phrase "Hey, I could make that!", I'd have enough money to feed my habits (craft habits, that is). When I'm shopping or thumbing through a magazine, this phrase almost always makes its way into my head. If I spy a knit hat or scarf - "I wonder if I could make that..."; baked goods at Starbucks - "I could definitely make that."; a cabled turtleneck sweater - "I wish I could make that". Ok, so my skills are not quite advanced enough for sweater knitting. And wouldn't it be easier and cheaper, and wouldn't I curse a lot less if I were to just buy said sweater at Gap? You betcha. But that wouldn't be nearly as fun and satisfying. So, I invite you to witness my messes and successes at being a self-proclaimed domestic goddess. I promise to not swear.