cupcake by candlelight

Yesterday was one of those days. You know the type.

Instead of doing anything drastic -- say, dropping the kids off at the orphanage and peeling away in a screech of rubber tires -- I baked these cupcakes I found and pinned earlier this week. I know my frosting isn't as fancy-schmancy, but it still tasted delicious. One note if you want to make them: the recipe says to fill the muffin cups about 3/4 full, but I did that and mine overflowed (which kind of just added to the day!), so for the next batch, I filled them 1/2 full and cut down baking time to 15 minutes, which was perfect. This was my first time baking with lavender and I didn't know what to expect; I was kind of afraid it would be too strong a taste, but that wasn't the case at all.

Those cupcakes really saved the day, and made it...better.

Happy weekend, all!

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eleven away

Joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along at small things today, so what am I reading? Well, I'm still slogging away at Devil at the Crossroads, which I told you about two weeks ago. It's not the book's fault that's taking me so long to read it; it's just that I don't have enough hours in a day to do everything I want to do. I think some of you can relate to that? Anyway, also on the nightstand is The Gentle Art of Domesticity. I've been going through this book very, very slowly since I first bought it a while back. The pictures are gorgeous and there's so much inspiration to be found between the pages. It celebrates what so many people in today's society look down upon as trivial -- admittedly, twenty years ago, I looked down upon housework and domestic tasks as trivial. But today? I find so much joy in the very things that make my house a home.

The crochet project is one of my oldies -- it'll eventually be an afghan. I'm eleven granny squares away from completion. Well, then I have to connect them all, so not quite completion. But oh so very close.

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spring cleaning

It didn't take long for the spring cleaning bug to bite over here. I'm cleaning things I normally ignore -- baseboards (yuck), window sills (bo-ring) and such. I should probably be glad, but all this cleaning is putting a crimp in crafting time.

Besides the house, I've also gone through my yarn stash and looked at one long-term project in particular, which I should've come to grips with a while ago. This was supposed to be The Gift of Friendship Scarf, but in an effort to clean out everything, including the stash, this is headed for the frog pond. Scarves and I just don't go well together.



They take too long, I get bored after a while, --> insert various other excuses here <-- ...

Once you've been knitting a while, I think you discover what you like and what you don't like, or what you'd rather not do. I've discovered that I'd rather not knit another scarf or baby blanket (though I don't mind crocheting blankets, as they go much faster). And that's okay. I know knitters who don't do sweaters or socks; or knitters who exclusively do mittens.

This leaves me more room to knit things I want to knit. Which can only be a good thing.

Happy weekend, all!

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sprung

It's not only the mild temperatures, the open windows and the longer days. This is how I know it's spring. How about you?

Happy first day of spring, everyone!

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coming along

Joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along today, I'm reading Devil at the Crossroads, which is the third in a Cornish murder mystery series. I picked up the first book in the series at my library -- it wasn't the easygoing, cozy mystery I expected, and that's actually a good thing, as I usually prefer meatier books. The only times I don't are the rare times I need something to skim through quickly. So it's been kind of slow going, which fits my mood these days just fine.

And the shawl is coming along. Only one day has passed since I started where I didn't have time to pick it up and knit at least a few rows. For me, that's pretty monumental. I may actually finish within the next week or so. Another FO, so soon? Only time will tell...

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random sunday

:: Socks, which were finished almost a month ago, and really should've been blogged before now.
:: Yarn is Lorna's Laces in sand ridge.
:: I've had this yarn forever and can't believe it took so long to knit socks with it.
:: I am loving all the fun, bright nail colors available now. Although I'm past the age of mini skirts and staying up all night, I can still enjoy a colorful manicure.
:: Happy that no one tells me I'm too old for that.
:: Maybe the group of 13 year-old boys I'm chaperoning on an out-of-town trip this week will tell me that.
:: I hope not, as I'd hate to leave anyone behind.
:: The only downside to painted nails is that I can't knit while the polish dries.
:: The upside is I can still read a book...and enjoy a glass of wine.

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Perfect

I've been suffering from some motivational issues lately, which affected more than just crafting. In an effort to pull myself out of the slump, I continued blog-reading, scouring old magazines, sifting through my stash -- nothing helped. Plus, I hadn't started anything new since the year began, which is so unlike me. No Startitis? I must've been sick. Then, out of nowhere, I wanted a garter stitch shawl in the worst way. I started perusing patterns, feeling guilty that I still have quite a few WIPs going. But I remembered that I'd recently finished a couple of projects, so casting on wasn't as guilt-inducing as I thought it would be, especially since my go-to basket was currently empty.

Not anymore. Want to see inside?



It's the 3S Shawl (rav link), which fits my need for simple. I'll admit sometimes I treat garter stitch like the neglected stepsister of the stitch family, but really, it has its own unique beauty, doesn't it? Especially when paired with yarns that have subtle color variations that do more work than the needles.




What also helped was the fact that the sun came out at last. Everything had been so overcast and damp lately, but I do feel spring coming. There's no way I could continue to be unmotivated when the weather and yarn came together in such a beautiful way. I spent most of my weekend on our back patio soaking up the sun. I parked myself in this old chair...





...and once again, marveled at these flowers, which just suddenly bloomed, seemingly out of nowhere.




It was the perfect weekend.

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