back to the fiber

when i was in maryland, i went crazy in the ~gayle's art~ booth. i am captivated by her colorways, how they blend together and (most importantly) how they spin.
so i bought this random hank of 'show special' which was 4oz of a corriedale mix in colors that only i loved. i've been spinning it and anyone that walks by my wheel is also captivated by the bands of color.... even the naysayers! i had thought about plying it, then toyed with the notion of navajo plying, then decided i liked the singles. i've got an idea about what i want to do with it..... my vacation knitting :)

and the chemo caps. well, i'm still working on the continental knitting. i am so very slow that it is almost painful to watch. but as practice makes perfect, i will keep going. i decided to use up the scraps from my previous caps and thought these went together nicely. i've got another cast-on in more masculine shades with a more manly pattern that is making me learn to purl.

success

this post is completely unrelated to fiber. a while ago, i decided that i needed to run a 5K and that i needed to accomplish this before i hit a landmark birthday. well, the birthday is approaching so it became apparent that i must get serious. now, i've never been a runner. never. i walk, and i can put the casual walker to shame, but running? my commitment to a goal is crazy-stupid. as i've proven with fiber, i just stick with it until the end.

starting in february i got serious. i got a recommendation for a training website, and was off. walk-run-walk, lengthening the time of the running piece and shortening the walks. i thought i was going to die. the time that i took to accomplish this was sad, really sad. but, i kept with it.by march i was able to run the entire way, staggering into the driveway thrilled that i got there. i kept at it, found great music to run to (eminem is my go to guy :) finally bought real running gear and saw my time improve.

today was goal day. i entered my first official 5K race. yikes. when i got there this morning there were all sorts of real runner-type folks. serious stuff. i got into the middle of the pack with my running companion and at the sound of the horn, we were off. i was so conditioned to my own rhythm that i kept a consistent pace. and i did it. ran the entire race and crossed that finish line. it was awesome.

i may have another in me :)

cupcakes

ages ago, my dear sweet cousin asked me to make 'bridal shower cupcakes' i immediately agreed(wow, huge surprise there) and promptly forgot about them. life got full of stuff, as life will do, and i was certainly glad when she called to give me the flavors. chocolate cupcakes with butter cream frosting, the shower colors are purple and yellow. well, what to do? it seems that i have become way to invested in throwdown with bobbie flay. i refer to anyone who helps me as 'miriam and stephanie' and i have to analyze tiny details. not a good combination for someone with my already enhanced sense of compulsive isms!
so i researched cupcake baking, batters, tricks and hints finally deciding to stick with my tried-and-true recipe. i purchased white liners and tinted the frosting a delicate yellow, then accented them with purple hearts. i found sparkly purple card stock the i punched with a heart punch. i put them together on a silver twist tie the i cut in half.

how cute are they? 48 cupcakes and one special large cake with two hearts for the bride to be.

in fiber news.... i finally have the yarn for my sweater sleeves. now i just need to dig out the pattern and get knitting!