Wednesday wanderings

I had a day off today and M1K1 and I decided it was the perfect time for her to make a belated trip down to see the exhibition,making sure to wear the famous rosemarie cardigan for the photo shoot (even though it really was too hot for such things today)

Then there was a visit to Shop Handmade, lunch at Gus' Cafe, followed by a visit to the Alex Asch works at Something in the Air CMAG exhibition.

And a visit to Jazz Apple Cafe for a little something to keep the energy levels up:(Mmmmmm.... red velvet. With a daisy...)

Next stop was Toyhaus in Fyshwick, which I've been meaning to visit for months. Mainly because I knew they had a Villa Sibi in stock and I wanted to go stroke it...

While I was there Louise told me they're working on getting The Emerson in stock.

I wasn't taking much notice as I'd spied this:which followed me home to be added to the caravan collection.

The day finished with a visit to Plastic Creations where we dreamed of what could be done in miniature with all their lovely plasticy bits.

And then, alas, it was time for M1K1 to hit the road.

Baking: real and virtual

Tomorrow is one of the Craft ACT crew's birthdays so this morning there was a flurry of baking in my kitchen before I headed in which produced these:Crafty gluten free cupcakes with buttony tops. Because cupcakes are a bit of a tradition for Craft ACT celebrations and I'm very late with the end of the year ones I promised...

Then tonight, when I got home I found this in my inbox thanks to a designer friend:

A spot of morning tea

Gluten and dairy-free cupcakes, iced using the icing thingy I bought *blush* two years ago and finally decided to try out (in true TSS style, a mere half hour before I was due out of the house to work). I think they worked out OK.

My wheat-free colleague certainly thought so...and was rather excited that she had a choice of not one but two sorts of cake to eat, neither of which were orange and almond. Plus a selection of gluten-free crackers and dips:

I ran out of cupcake cases while baking this evening

So now do you think I can justify buying a packet of thesewhich I've been lusting after ever since Wheel & Barrow opened in Canberra?

And do you think, if I do go in to buy them, I'll manage to escape without buying these as well?

Belated pictures from November

I'm not sure if I mentioned last year that some of my cupcake knitting was going to be exhibited in Sydney while I was overseas in November?

Marrickville Council’s bi-annual Arts Night was held at Petersham Town Hall on Thursday 29 November 2007. The event was named Map 255: Marrickville (directions in arts and culture) in reference to the cultural mapping that was carried out during the year as part of the Cultural Planning Research Project.

The Project plotted local artists, events, resources, creative industries, and cultural activists on the Marrickville map.

I received photos of the event this week, including this shrine to The Shopping Sherpa:(Tea cosy, cupcakes, vintage bed tray and magnolia teaset all provided by moi via Princess B)(Photographs courtesy of Simon Rowell, Marrickville Council)

One-word Week: Wednesday

Almost...

Cupcakes, cruising and champagne

Introducing my latest cupcake flavour - cotton!
Showing off my cruise documents which I picked up last night. Very happy to see that gratuities are included already - one less lot of money I need to budget for.

Making the yearly decision later in the night over a glass (or two, or three) of free champagne.

They're coming to take me away, Ha-Haaa!

I'm stopping now, OK?

This might just take the cake

I'm mad, I tell you. Mad!

M is for...

... Monday. Kinda handy since that's what today is!
... Mobile phone madness. I took delivery this morning of 27 keypads for my trusty Nokia 3310. Yep. 27. There were only supposed to be 25 according to the eBay listing but 27 turned up. This does nasty things to my tally for Seven Things Spring but I'm rather relieved to now have a stockpile to keep me going for a wee while since they're no longer sold in mobile phone shops (odd that).*

... Mushrooms which have sprouted in my backyard over the rains of the last few days. I must have fairies (and here I was thinking all that screeching and hissing outside my bedroom window was possums...)... Miniaturising. Yes it's another knitted cupcake.But a lot smaller. I had the sudden image of knitted cupcake Christmas tree decorations and so had to see if I could turn it into reality. Answer: yes. Problem: I used the lid off my water bottle for the base so unless I feel the need to go buy packs of Woolworths Home Brand water bottles with white lids this may end up being a one-off. Is cute, though, yes?

...Mystery. Why oh why has my laptop stopped acknowledging when I plug my printer in? ... Mats. While looking to see if I had some silver thread to sew french knot silver sprinkles onto my cupcake I came across these two unfinished dolls house rugs in my embroidery box. These have been sitting there for an embarrassingly long time. I promise to finish them this week.

...Make it yourself. It's too late for me to take the pledge this year as I admit to having had some bought items squirreled away for months but I think this is an awesome initiative. If you're not a crafty type (or don't have time to cover your whole list) check out Made It, Etsy, or your local markets for hand made Christmas ideas.

.... Must buy. craft::boom has a code for a 3-for-2 deal on Moo cards!

...Mellow How I'll be this evening as I slide towards an unexpected public holiday.

(Why 25?" you ask. I could have bought 1 for $5 total including shipping. I got the 25 for $15 total.)

For what's a birthday without cake?

Nicknameless S and I are beggars for punishment as a mere 13 and a half hours after leaving the National Gallery we were back for more.

After lunch in the Members' Lounge we headed off in different directions - S to a workshop and me to howl with laughter at the Open Stage Productions' Ned Kelly improvisation (alas no photos allowed), where I learnt an alternative version of Australian history where Ned Kelly steals a diamond from an icecream shop and is told to remember The Australian Womans' Weekly comes out on a Tuesday (and to always carry serviettes).

And if that wasn't enough laughter for one day I then went to the Bigotbri CWA Ladies' tour of NIAT. To quote a quite unrelated website: "Satirizing age-old covert racist opinions of white Australia, the Bigotbri Ladies invert and expose mainstream perceptions of race, class and ethics. Unaware of their own shortcomings the Bigotbri Ladies are, like the recession, the comedy duo we had to have. Politically incorrect and loving it!" To make things even funnier, most of the artists were there and had to cope with questions from The Ladies like "Are you Bipolar?"

Here's the one (really bad) picture I managed to take before being officially tapped on the shoulder and told photography was not allowed:

Oh, yeah, you're wondering about the cake.

Afternoon tea in the Members' Lounge. Best cupcake I've ever eaten (and not just because I was lolling on a Barcelona Chair, overlooking the lake and eating something that had a star on wire sticking out of the middle of it.... )

But I have to say I'm feeling satiated with culture after the week just passed. Am worried that next week will find me on the couch with my hand down my pants, eating McDonalds while watching some DVD with scantily clad women, guns and lots of explosions and chugging Bundy and Cola.

Oh bum! It would seem cupcakes are now passé...

...just as I packaged up mine to take to Sydney tonight.

Yup, it would seem scones are the new big thing (odd, I didn't even know Americans knew about scones - always thought they called them biscuits...)

And I'm pleased to say I was one year ahead of trend. (*snort*) Now if I could only work out a pattern for knitted scones...

(Listening to: Sketch Night & Day (free with April 2007's Living Etc magazine)

Cupcake love

Ohhhh... these are so goooood!

I'm so happy that they came out just the way I pictured them...

The only problem is I now have to box them up (I need to go cadge two small bakery boxes from somewhere) and give them away. *Sniff*(The stats:

* Pattern from here, slightly modified.
* Frugalled wool bought here and here for a total of around $5.50 (leaving me enough wool leftover to keep churning these babies out if I feel so inclined)
* Cupcake bottoms lined with cut down Woolies Home Brand disposable white plastic glasses, weighted with stones I already had and, tucked inside, a lavender bag made from a bit of an old net curtain and lavender from the markets ($6 for a bag of which I used half)
* Stuffing courtesy of my old guest bed pillow.
* Various "toppings" found in the stash of craft stuff I picked up from Hot Dollar ages ago.)

(Listening to: The Christians, The Christians)

I'm stuffed but my cupcakes aren't...

Yesterday I had planned (amongst other things) to head to Kingston Markets and buy some dried lavender to pop in these before I stuffed them.

But I never made it - after spending more time than I expected chatting about dollshouses with Charlene and Robert to when I picked up my mini cannisters, and more time than I expected wandering lostly round Aldi looking for the apple crisps they'd advertised (which had never arrived, I found out in the end), I ravenously jumped at the opportunity to meet S, M & J for a (very) late lunch at Tilleys, forgetting completely that I'd wanted to buy lavender.

Never mind, I don't need the finished cupcakes til the first weekend in May so I can always go to the markets next weekend. Or go the easy way and just buy some off eBay....

But in the meantime I'm a little between knitting projects and feeling very antsy. Especially with new supplies of wool having just turned up in the mail from eBay (I've given up on getting wool from Vinnies - between the African Aids baby jumpers, the penguin jumpers and the premmie hats the wool stocks are looking very very sadly depleted).

I'm still in lust with the cabled hoodie from the Spring 2007 issue of Knit.1 of which my copy is (they tell me) about 6 weeks away so it seems pointless to go buy more wool to go with a pattern I do not yet have.

(Listening to: Loop Select 005, Good shit happens)

Going potty...

Remember I mentioned cupcakes? Well I never imagined it'd be quite so big. Or, after having originally been knitted as a gift, deciding it would really rather stay right here with me.

I'm not sure about the pom pom on the top. I perched it there for the photo. I either have to go buy a bag of the bigger ones (damn! That would entail another trip to Hot Dollar...), make one, or remove it altogether. I mean cupcakes are supposed to have delicate icing sugar flowers balanced on top not red pretend cherries. Right?!

The nitty gritty: knitted using frugalled Patons crafty (yes, I succumbed to Acrylic this once) and the children's cupcake hat pattern from chile con yarne with a few changes. The split for the handle and spout being the most noticeable, but I also replace the nubbles with an idea I'd picked up from this pattern for using an increase row to mimic the overflow of icing.

Still not sure about the top though. Far too puffy for my liking. Maybe I need to attack it with the steam iron?

(Listening to: New Order, Get Ready)

Domestics, drama and dawdling

Today was my favorite sort of Sunday - it started off quiet and overcast. The sort of day where you feel that you have every right to throw any grandiose plans (ie: go to gym, attend 6:15 am launching of hot air balloons for Circus of the Air) out the window and spend it pottering instead.

In the morning I did some baking:They don't look much like I planned but they still taste damned good which is the important part. Ginger cakes with ginger icing (and if that wasn't enough in the ginger department) dark chocolate coated ginger delight on the top. Next time I'll make double quantity of the ginger icing to get that properly covered look.

Then, as MR was coming for lunch I did some more baking. And soup making:(home made tomato soup with feta, spinach and olive muffins. Yuuum!)

Then we headed off to the National Museum to see The Dora Fay Davenport Show: how to achieve domestic bliss ("This lifestyle show is set in a television studio in 1957, the year after television was introduced in Australia. The Dora Fay Davenport Show: How to Achieve Domestic Bliss is presented by Dora Fay Davenport, a fictitious celebrity") which has to have been the best $5 I have spent in a good long while.

And I was very happy to see Nigel Sutton involved as I've been a fan of his since I did my first Krispin K tour of the Powerhouse Museum during design week. Speaking of The Powerhouse - the show is heading that way next month so go see it if you get the chance.

WARNING: GRATUITOUS APRON SHOT COMING UP:

Afterwards I dragged poor MR off to experience K Space without telling her a thing about it. Luckily she had fun and is still talking to me...

Into town for last minute shoe hunting for MR then coffee. And on the way back to the car we passed an old friend who obviously has other admirers...

(Soundtrack: Bluespeak, Dark Blue)

Today's posts brought to you by the letters P and C and the number 6

Let's play a little game shall we?

I spy with my little eye something beginning with C...

• Comfortable Couch maybe?
• Coffee plunger?
• Cup and saucer?
• Cool Cushions?
• Cake stand?

or could it possibly, just maybe, perhaps stand for

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES?

(To quote a favourite movie: inconceivable!)

Destined to remain cupcakeless

Cupcakes for Sunday afternoon tea, I decided. Perfect. So I got out the muffin tin. The lovely white cupcake papers I bought months ago. The ingredients. The bowl and the beater. Preheated the oven. All set to go. Except for one liddle biddie teensie weensie problem.

When I took my mixer in to be fixed earlier this year (I'd broken the blender driver when a piece of frozen bread had got stuck between the blade and the side of the blender) it would appear that the fixit man had put one of the pieces that the beaters fit into together the wrong way round. So I can only get one beater in. Blerk!

Cupcakes will have to wait til I've done a trip back to Belconnen. Luckily the fixit people open at sparrow's fart so I can probably get out there and back before work.

Since I had the muffin tin out and the oven was heated I made myself some Potato and Pea Tarts for lunch. These are sooooo good - I have cravings if I don't make them regularly. (And before you ask, Lisa, the recipe is:

Cooking oil spray
4 sheets filo pastry
150g potato, cut into 1 cm cubes and cooked until tender
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup (60g) extra low-fat sour cream
3 Tbsp grated parmesan
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, torn
(I also add 50g smoked salmon, cut into small pieces)

1. Preheat oven to 180 c. Spray 4 x 8cm 1/3 cup capacity muffin holes with cooking oil. Cut filo sheets into quarters. Layer filo evenly among muffin holes, spraying between sheets with cooking oil. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven.
2. Divide potato and peas among shells (I actually mix them together in a separate bowl along with the mint and smoked salmon). Whisk together eggs, sour cream, cheese and mint in a jug. Pour over potato mixture.
3. Bake for a further 30 minutes or until just set. Serve with mixed salad.
(Stolen from WW mag))

(Soundtrack: Anna Domino, Anna Domino)