buzzville

knitting like a fiend!

Well, the sun didn't really cooperate with me today, so I had to break down and take pictures with my camera's not-so-great flash. I'm knitting furiously on the project for my class - a simple pullover sweater based on this Ann Norling pattern. I had so much trouble picking a yarn... I just couldn't find a cotton or cotton blend yarn in a bulky weight that I *really* wanted to work with. So, I ended up spending loads of $$$ on the super amazing Debbie Bliss cashmerino superchunky. This yarn is so soft and so easy to knit! I picked the olive green because I figure it will go with about anything, and I'm hoping this will turn into one of those sweaters that I can just "live" in. I'm not completely in love with the pattern - nothing too amazing there - but it's probably just what I need, given that I'm such a beginner. The huge challenge is that she wants us to have the front and back finished by Saturday! Given that I usually only have about 2 hours at most that I can knit each day, it's going to be pretty tough to get that far... here's what I've got so far:

it's raining, it's pouring...

... and the weather is indeed conspiring against me today. I had several new things I wanted to post, but alas, no break in the rain and gloom to snap any photos. I'm hoping we'll have a break tomorrow so that I can get some photos taken.

In the meantime, I'll mention that I've cast on for a real sweater! I can't believe I'm tackling an actual, semi-fitted garment... we'll see how this one goes! Luckily, I'm doing this through my class, so I'll have plenty of assistance along the way.

Some of you may remember that I am a participant in the Modern Quilt Along; those same folks among you may also think that I've dropped out or otherwise forgotten about the challenging project I took on. Fear not, dear crafty friends, for I have not abandoned the "Unfinished Business" quilt, and I do indeed have a progress report - to be continued when I can get some sunlight for photos!

I have a long list of things I want to share with all of you, so hopefully I'll be able to tackle some of that this week. Exciting things are in the works, including a new project that I hope you'll all be interested in. But for now, you'll just have to settle for this dull, picture-less post...

Wait, I can always post a picture of a cute little girl, right? Ok, here's the pic:

gifty!

Somehow I forgot to post about the wonderful gifts that were exchanged during our Valentine celebration. It's funny that although each gift has a designated giver and recipient, I think that we're both going to enjoy them equally. I was thrilled when Jerry took my not-so-subtle hints and snatched up one of the remaining Gocco fabric stamp kits:

 

For those of you who already have the Gocco B6, but don't have the fabric stamp kit, I just checked and Dick Blick still has some left for $45.99. I have all kinds of ideas swimming in my head, but I'll have to narrow them down to get started... so fun!

And Jerry was happy (I think!) to get this little toy:

For those who aren't familiar with Holga cameras or lomography, I recommend this little primer. We shot our first roll of film during our weekend in Big Sur, but I still haven't made it to the only shop in town that will develop medium format film! Must do that this weekend! We can't wait to see the results from our new camera... We didn't use any electrical tape on this one - we're encouraging all the light leaks and other artifacts that this little camera may bring! Next I want to try using it with 35mm film, which apparently will expose the entire surface of the film - sprocket hole exposures! Aren't new gadgets and toys fun?!?

Mish Mash!

Well, I must say I'm rather embarrassed... why? Because this morning I was reading Amy's lovely blog birthday post when I remembered that she and I started up our blogs at about the same time. So, I had to go and check to see when my blog birthday is, only to discover that buzzville's birthday is today! Very embarrassing... I purchased no presents, prepared no lovely thoughts, and schemed no fantastic surprises. I'm so sorry! My only thought is that this is pretty typical for buzzville - I seem to constantly be striving to catch up with everything, only to find that most things are long gone! But, that doesn't mean that the past year of blogging hasn't been fabulous. In fact, I'd say this little blog is one of the best things to happen to me in quite some time - wonderful new friends and contacts, a rewarding creative outlet, lots of inspiration and encouragement and camaraderie, a private spot just for me, and so much more. For all of that, I thank all of you. Of course, I could do this blogging alone, without all of you, but it has become so much more rewarding  - and just plain fun - because I we're all doing this together! Maybe year 2 for buzzville will find me a bit more ahead of the curve, but I wouldn't count on it! What I know I *can* count on is all of you! Thanks!

In other news, I've finished up my 5th knitting project! (Yes, that means that the next one will be counted on a second set of fingers!) I made a ribbed scarf for my father-in-law from Noro Transitions. I knitted the scarf in a 4x4 rib on size 11 needles. I gave it a gentle wash after it was all finished up, and the yarn relaxed quite a bit and got super soft. The only negative effect of knitting this scarf is that I now realize how expensive knitting is - 3 hanks of Transitions makes for one very valuable scarf! Unfortunately, I don't have any great photos of it, but here's a nighttime shot modeled by my hubby:

So, I have a few questions for all of you seasoned knitters out there:

• what do you do when you run into a manufacturer's knot joining two pieces of yarn? Do you undo the knot and join as if you're joining a new ball? Do you just knit as if it's not there and hope it will be hidden in your stitches?
• it seems like buying yarn on the internet may well be the way to go in order to save some $$$. I normally like to support my local businesses, but I'm not sure my pocketbook can handle the local prices! Any thoughts/strategies?
• I'm starting another yarn class this weekend - a simple pullover - and I would love yarn recommendations. I love the textures, colors and feel of wool yarns, but it never really gets cold enough here to wear wool comfortably (I get too hot, and then the itching begins!). So, I should probably be looking for a chunky/bulky cotton - any favorites out there - especially in a variegated or marled yarn?

Thanks in advance for any help you can send my way!

hoppin' down the bunny trail

am I the only one who is completely nuts for this new line of Easter goodies from Sur La Table? Geesh - just what I need - more seasonal decor that takes up a ton of space... but, how can I resist these?!?

Martha's Cake o' the Month - February

I know you've all been sitting on the edge of your seats, anxiously awaiting the next installment of my experiment - baking each of the monthly cakes from Martha Stewart Living's January 2006 issue. Well, the wait is over! Once again, the process was a challenge, albeit for different reasons, but the end result far more pleasing than the January cake.

The cake for February is the Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake - an appropriately indulgent cake for Valentine's Day, I thought! Like last month, this recipe was composed of several recipes - a cake recipe for the base, and 2 different chocolate mousse recipes for the top layers. I won't get into too much detail as to why our cakes became double chocolate mousse cakes, it might horrify the most powerful amongst you and do permanent damage to others, but let's just say it involved a very sick toddler, sticky chocolate all over the floor, and a brand new and scarily powerful small appliance. Enough said!

The baking of the cakes was simple enough, if a little bit annoying in that I had to seek out 8 3.5" diameter ramekins which I now own for eternity. The recipe performed beautifully, and the miniature cakes were beautiful cooling in their ramekins. On to the mousse... I started with the bittersweet (darker) mousse and everything went well until it was time to pipe the mousse onto the cakes. At that point, my sick little one decided she could no longer be entertained by daddy, toys, books or anything else, and that only mommy would do. So, I placed the fluffy mousse into the refrigerator to wait until I was able to come back to the assembly job. Big mistake! By the time I was able to return to the job, the mousse had been chilled so much that it was no longer "pipe-able". In fact, it was much more the consistency of buttercream. I grabbed my trusty offset spatula thinking that I would apply the mousse as I would frosting, but quickly learned that mousse, even when very cold, still does not behave like buttercream! I then decided to embrace the look I was getting (more "rustic", less "sophisticate") and go with the flow.

The first mousse was done, then the aforementioned disaster with the milk chocolate mousse was upon us. I will say no more.

Given that my little cakes were now looking much more like cupcakes than triple layered mini masterpieces, I decided to continue with the look and top them with delicious Guittard sprinkles (jimmies) instead of the chocolate shavings as directed by Martha. The end result? Incredibly rich, chocolatey and completely delicious. Although my version was not truly complete or as refined as the source recipe, my little cakes were a fantastic epilogue to a stressful, but filled with love, Valentine's Day.

For your reference, this is what the cakes were intended to look like:

and this is the more rustic, handcrafted version from chez buzzville:

Other notes:

1. a tough recipe to take on unless you have several uninterrupted hours on your hands (key word being "uninterrupted")
2. scotch tape does not adhere to parchment paper... save your cursing and try masking tape from the start!
3. all of the individual components taste fantastic - consider you now have recipes for a yummy chocolate cake, dark chocolate mousse, and milk chocolate mousse that you can use individually as well!

Valentine bliss

Happy Valentine's Day to all! We are back from our long weekend getaway and I'm struggling to get back into the routine! Here's the lowdown:

We have an odd sort of tradition in making a stop at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo to stretch our legs and get a snack when we're heading north. It's a good location for a stop when we're heading north, and it gives Brynne a chance to run around a bit. I don't know how many of you know of it, but it's a totally crazy place - from the themed rooms (Caveman, Tack Room, Sugar & Spice, Jungle Rock, Love Nest, etc.) to the over-the-top cakes, to more pink than you can possibly imagine! If you haven't been, I strongly recommend a stop if you're driving by for a huge fix of kitsch! The famous men's urinal is also a must see!

After that stop, we headed the rest of the way to Treebones Resort, located a few miles north of the tiny town of Gorda on Highway 1. The place is really gorgeous... there is a campsite for tent camping and 16 yurts available to stay in. We stayed in one of the larger yurts, which helps when you have a toddler who has the need to run in circles all the time! Our yurt was outfitted with 2 queen sized beds, a futon/sofa, 3 papasan chairs, a dining table and chairs, a sink, and a gas heater. We also had a nice little deck and Adirondack chairs for enjoying the view - straight out to the Pacific!

As an aside, I wanted to praise the owners of the resort for treading extremely lightly on the beautiful land - using the yurts was a brilliant way to leave the landscape as untouched as possible while still allowing people to stay and enjoy this little piece of paradise. It's so nice when this country is smart enough to pay attention to brilliant design from elsewhere in the world - especially when it's technology that's been around since the 13th century! I understand that yurts are also being used by Oregon Parks & Recreation as an alternative to tent or RV camping. The yurts we stayed in were manufactured by Pacific Yurts in case anyone is interested...

Treebones has a heated pool and hot tub, and they offer casual dinners cooked on site. We stayed there for dinner our first night and had some good, simple barbecue. They also provide a complimentary Belgian waffle breakfast each morning, and Brynne was thrilled to wake up and have waffles and hot chocolate each morning!

Our perfect day began with waffles, and then continued with an easy hike at Limekiln State Park, about 20 minutes north of Treebones on Hwy 1. It can be really tough to find hikes appropriate for a 2.5 year old, but this was perfect - incredible redwoods, a rocky stream, lots of smaller and one huge waterfall, historic lime kilns, and our new friend, Slimy the banana slug! We liked this beautiful place so much that we're talking about going back and camping in the Redwood campsites (currently closed for "winter"). After our hike, we headed further north to one of my favorite places in the world: Nepenthe. I've been going to this spot, thanks to my mom, for at least 20 years (boy that makes me sound old!), and it always delivers on good food, outstanding scenery, and fun people watching. Big Sur is known as a spot where hippies and artists settle down, so there's always an interesting mix of people to enjoy. We had a delicious lunch, wandered around a bit, and then headed back to Treebones. After some leisure time at the yurt, we decided to get dinner at the Whale Watcher Cafe in nearby Gorda. We had fantastic dinners, and the most indulgent chocolate cake I've had in a very long time!

We decided to head for home the next morning, but with a few side trips along the way. We stopped at Piedras Blancas in San Simeon for some obligatory elephant seal viewing - noisy, stinky, and aggressive - but Brynne loved the whole bit! Then we headed in to Cambria to wander the cute shops and eat some lunch. From there we made the rest of the drive home and did nothing for the rest of the evening - a perfect way to unwind after a really great weekend! Here are some photos of our adventures:

inside the yurt

a hint of the beauty at Limekiln State Park

our new friend, Slimy!

 

large waterfall at Limekiln (yes, Jerry got a bit wet while fording a stream!)

view from Nepenthe - typical Big Sur gorgeous-ness!

prime viewing of elephant seals!

The best laid plans...

Well, I had certainly planned on posting some fun stuff before this, but let's just say that I got a wee bit ahead of myself. Just wanted to post to let you all know that we're escaping for a long weekend (surprise for Jerry!) to stay in a luxurious yurt at the Treebones Resort in Big Sur. I can't wait - haven't stayed there before, but I've heard incredible things about it... I don't anticipate being able to post while we're away, but I'll post all the details and pics when we get back! Have a great weekend everyone!

fruity pebbles

Continuing the Valentine's Day theme, today Brynne and I whipped up (pun intended) a batch of the grapefruit meringue hearts featured in this month's Martha Stewart Living. Meringues are funny treats, and I don't want them all the time, but they're fun to have every now and then. Unlike the recipe, I made them all with grapefruit zest (rather than half orange and half grapefruit).* They were pink before I cooked them, but then turned a pale tan color after cooking for 3 hours. So, if you want yours to be pink, add more coloring than you think you need to compensate for the browning during cooking. Here is a tray of hearts, ready for a sweet welcome home for Jerry after his long commute this evening:

* those of you who aren't citrus fans, I *promise* that the next thing I bake won't be citrus based!

valentine goodness

We're gearing up for a little getaway weekend - a surprise for Jerry so I won't tell you where we're going yet - and so we're doing some fun Valentine crafting at home. Today I made the multicolored crayons from Martha Stewart in a fun Valentine's Day palette: red, pink, orange, and purple. I used a silicone heart-shaped muffin pan and they worked great. The only thing that wasn't quite perfect is that I noticed when I pulled them out of the oven that all or some of the wax had separated to the top. I haven't noticed that this has affected how well they work, but I may need to scrape the wax layer off so that Brynne doesn't get too frustrated trying to draw with plain wax! I used washable crayons (of course!), and I don't know if this makes a difference in the baking, but maybe I'll see if standard crayons do the same thing. Anyone else have this happen?