Cupcake

Look what I found at Petco--a Hostess cupcake for dogs.  Lucy was very intent upon getting to the filling...um, squeaker.

I loved Hostess cupcakes as a child.  I believed in "saving the best for last".  I'd flip my cupcake over, eat the cake and filling.  Then I'd hold the frosting upside down in my hands and lick off any remaining cake.  Next I'd bend the frosting along the edges of the white swirls.  This resulted in two semi-circles of chocolate frosting, which I'd eat, and the prize of those white swirls on top of chocolate frosting...the best...and at last I'd eat that.  It was SO good!

I don't know when I last ate a Hostess cupcake.  It was many years ago.  The next chance I get, I'll eat a Hostess cupcake the very same way I did when my age could be measured in single digits.

Swatch

SP12 Question of the Week #8

What is your favorite supper for a hot summer evening?

Something cool and refreshing, something that doesn't heat up the kitchen, something not too heavy...but I am not sure I have an absolute favorite dish that fits these requirements.

However, I really enjoy this Sonoma Chicken Salad from Whole Foods. I've made it several times. The red grapes make it a bit different from the usual chicken salad. It's good with white wine or lemonade.

I'm making myself hungry thinking about it! Maybe I'll make it this weekend.

I have the best secret pal ever!

Seriously, I do.  Look at this cheerful package I found on my doorstep (minus the pinecones to disguise my address).  It's Monday--what a great thing to come home to and make the start of the work week a little less painful.   OK, a lot less painful.

I laid everything out on the patio table, but in order to photograph it all together I had to stand on a chair that rocks and I just wasn't getting a good picture.  So here are several pictures instead.
The little hand is a needle sizer!  Each of the holes is labeled 3.5 mm, etc.  Isn't that great? That's a box of black current candy.  The decoration says "welcome" in Finnish.  No, I don't speak it, but my pal provided the translation.
This beautiful blue sock yarn was dyed by my pal.  Hm, she's apparently both a knitter and a dyer.  This will make some lovely socks!
This is a towel with a dancing lady.  I wonder if there's a Finnish story behind it?  
Back to that blue yarn...my pal sent a pattern for some wavy socks.  They're really pretty.  It's in Finnish, but she also provided the link for the English translation.  When I finish knitting the socks, I can block them with this sock blocker.

Thank you, secret pal, for a great package and a fun ending to the start of the week!

SP12 Question of the Week #7

What is your favorite place to knit?
1. my family room
2. my mom's kitchen in Colorado (though she could use some chairs that are more comfortable)

What supplies (besides yarn & needles) make the setting perfect for knitting?
I like a good movie on the big flat-screen TV in front of me, the dog at my feet (she's a good foot stool), and a cold drink on the table to my left. I can usually find all of this in my family room.

Dishcloth Exchange Package

I am a little late in posting and for that I apologize to Mary. She was my secret partner in the Keeping Cool in the Summer Dishcloth Exchange. Last Friday I received a fantastic package from her. I could not believe all the stuff she fit in the box!

Mary crocheted three dishcloths for me. One is a blue square with a pretty stitch pattern, one is in the shape of an angel, and one looks like a fish. They almost make me want to wash dishes! Actually I think the angel may become a fridge decoration because it's entirely too nice to use on my dirty dishes.

There's a grocery list pad with a picture of a dog, treats for my puppy, treats for my kitty, two bottles of great-smelling mandarin mango Bath & Body Works shower gel (my favorite), salt & pepper shakers that look like corn (so summery!), and some colorful, reusable ice cubes to keep my drinks cool and festive.

There is a skein of Fantasy Naturale cotton. I love this stuff but don't know where to get it locally. On my recent trip I saw it in one of the stores I visited. I thought long and hard about buying some, but I'd already spent so much money that I decided not to. Mary must have known because she sent it.

The other skein of yarn is hand-dyed by NH Knitting Mama. It's beautiful shades of purple. I think Mary is nudging me to make socks with it because she also included a book that will help me learn to knit socks. I accept the challenge! I'll soon be a sock-knitter! Here's a close-up of the yarny goodness.

Mary was an excellent partner. She kept in touch constantly, asked me lots of questions about my preferences, and put a lot of thought and care into this package. Thank you!

Clapotis -- finished!

Here it is, my finished Clapotis. I started this on an airplane to Colorado the Friday before Memorial Day (May 23). I finished on July 16. I love my finished shawl/wrap/whatever! (It’s way bigger than a scarf. In fact, it’s taller than I am.)

I don’t intend to block my Clapotis. I like how it looks right now.

I used Schaefer Yarns Laurel, a mercerized cotton, in the Empress Wu Zhao colorway. Each skein is fairly big, 8 oz. and 400 yards. I used one full skein and about half of another. The yarn was really easy to work with.

Dropping the stitches was the most fun part of knitting this. Imagine dropping stitches on purpose! I’ve dropped them accidentally, most recently on the blue Montego Bay scarf, and since the stitch unraveled several rows down, I had a horrible time getting back on track. But on the Clapotis you do this on purpose! It almost felt naughty.

Dropping stitches was fun, but first I was nervous. What if I’d gotten off and dropped the wrong stitch? I’d never recover. Luckily this never happened. After the first few, it became fairly obvious if I was dropping in the right place.

After I finished a repeat, I’d take a few moments to rest my fingers and unravel the dropped stitch all the way down. It was a reward for finishing another repeat. And each time I did it, my project looked more and more like a Clapotis.

I must say, this is a very popular project on Ravelry. Soon after I began mine, I found 6080 Clapoti on the projects page. Now I see there are 6725. That means 645 have been made since I first looked.

I love this thing! I intend to wear it every day, indoors and out, and eat a croissant!