Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring?

Here is what the first day of Spring brought to the Pacific Northwest:

Don't be fooled by the flowering trees, the picture is fuzzy for a reason (other than my poor photography skills): SLEET.While it only sleeted briefly, the remainder of the day was unseasonably cold and very rainy. *sigh* I guess we need to cherish the nice weather we had on Saturday a bit longer...

In non-weather related news, here is the latest update on the Baby Wrap Sweater:

That's right, all knitted up and ready for blocking, seaming and finishing. The pattern calls for twisted ties to be added to the sweater as a means of closure but while the pattern is really specific as to placement of the ties, it gives no instructions what-so-ever as to how the twisted ties themselves are to be manufactured. I'm mulling two alternatives: a) using a ribbon as a tie and b) picking up three stitches on each side and making i-cord ties. I'll let you know what I decide.

In the meantime I am working on the lavender baby bonnet for Pooh Bear. I am on the last pattern repeat before I begin shaping the back so I think I might have a pictorial update for that later in the week. I intend to make the matching socks that are part of the bonnet pattern but even after that I think I will have a ball of yarn leftover so I am seriously contemplating making the Amelie Dress from Natural Knits for Babies & Mothers to match the bonnet, using the bonnet color as the contrast band on the dress. Eh, who am I kidding? I'm going to make it, I just have to pick a main color, buy the yarn and cast on.

I've decided for the sake of brevity that I am going to give my Albatross updates in a format that pays homage to Helen Fielding from now on. It will only take one line of space and will be easy to skip over for those of you bored by my endlessly going on about the blanket that won't end. So here is today's update:

Albatross rows knit since last post: 7, p. (poor)

In the future, I'll have the update at the top of the post a la Bridget Jones. I will post pictures at Critical junctures (halfway and the end). But other than that, I'll try to keep it short. Note, that I said try- we all know I am not above whining on and on if so moved (sorry).

Hmmm... I need to figure out what to do next, now that the wrap sweater is (mostly) done. The logical thing would be to immediately cast on for the matching hat or booties but I'm not sure. Maybe I need something totally new? Or maybe I could cast on for the hat and something new?

One last thing, had I known that Moonstruck chocolate was about to be embroiled in a lawsuit with a local coffee company I might not have blogged about them the other day. Or I might have... the chocolate is damned good.

Seattle cupcake Tour, Part 3

For the third part of my cupcake journey I popped down the road a bit to Ballard. I still can't believe how much Ballard has "grown up" since we moved to Seattle nine years ago. You can imagine my surprise when it took me twenty minutes to park down near the main drag on a weeknight. I can remember when it was no difficulty at all to park right on Market on a Friday or Saturday night... but enough of that, it is time to talk cake.

At Cupcake Royale I sampled two cupcakes, the Ballerina and the Lavender

I'm going to start first with the Lavender, a choocolate cake with lavender flavored frosting decorated with purple and white sprinkles:

• The Cake - The chocolate cake was more cocoa-y in flavor than a rich fudgy flavor. It was a bit dry for me but still acceptable.


• The Icing - The icing was creamy and has a strong lavender scent which enhances the flavor (so much of taste is scent) which keeps the icing from being overwhelmed by the cake. Lavender is probabbly not a flavor that is commonly enjoyed but I have always liked it. the way the floral scent/flavor plays across your tongue is something I find intriguing.

The Ballerina - A vanilla cake with buttercream frosting decorated by a small candy flower.

• The Cake - A wonderful yellow cake with just the right amount of richness. It was a bit denser than I normally like; I like a moist but light cake, not to dry but with fairly large air pockets. This cake was not too moist (I'd guess that overcooking the cake even the teeniest bit could send it into the dry side but luckily the bakers pulled the cake in time and so it remained yummy) and had very tiny air pockets which create the denseness that is sometimes created through moisture. Does this make sense, I'm having a hard time describing it which is why I'm not a food critic I guess...


• The Icing - One word: YUM. This is how I like my buttercream, buttery and sweet but not cloying. Good texture and mouth feel. Creamy, not grainy, to balance the ever so slight dryness of the cake.

Overall Impression: I enjoyed the Lavender but will be the first to admit that this flavor may not appeal to everyone ("you want me to eat flowers?"). I urge you to give it try however. Cupcake Royale does a good job of balancing the flavor of the chocolate with the flavor of the lavender icing so that neither is overpowering. You don't lose the lavender in the chocolate and you don't get too much floral. Cupcake Royal also offers a yellow cake with lavender icing.

The Ballerina is the best vanilla cupcake I have tasted thus far and is almost perfect in my book.

By the way, if you try the Lavender and find you like the chocolate-lavender combination, or if you already know you like the two together, let me suggest the Lavender-Honey Caramel from Moonstruck Chocolate Company in Portland. It is quite tasty (as are all of the company's luscious looking offerings that I have sampled). The truffle is part of the English Garden Collection (unfortunately only available from April thru September, I'd like to nibble on these all year long). Luckily, you can order Moonstruck's chocolate online which is good for me since I no longer frequently travel down 405 to Portland now that I am a stay at home mom. Be sure to check out their absolutely adorable Spring Collection - what knitter wouldn't want an Extra Bittersweet Lamb?

So there you go, two cupcakes and a bonus truffle!