YUM!

Posted on Posted in designing, food and garden, lace/shawls, projects

o.m.g. i haven’t had german chocolate cake in years but this weekend was my birthday and when david asked what kind of cake he should bake, it hit me that this kind would be a nice change of pace.

why yes, it does taste as good as it looks, thank you david!

i had nice treats all weekend, in fact. while i did have to spend part of friday on taxes and accounting work, i managed to knock off by 2 pm so david and i could go out on our bikes and take advantage of a beautiful afternoon to do errands (errands by bike are a LOT more fun that regular errands).

beckie picked us up after work and we all went for a cocktail, then dinner at a new asian bistro in our neighborhood. the espresso martinis were yummy and the thiai food was outstanding—a totally welcome surprise. i think we found a new go-to restaurant.

beckie gave me these sparkly opal earrings and i got a lovely package from alice of fine skin care products from london

i can’t believe she remembered my birthday at a time like this, with a baby due any moment. thank you alice!

and from phoebe there were sweets (i forgot to put the emergency chocolate in the photo) and some really lovely handspun polwarth yarn; what a special gift, thank you phoebe!

i also got some pretty gardening gloves; aren’t they lovely?

on saturday morning i got together with debby and susie for knitting and we all sat and chatted while the snow fell outside; it was magical (it’s been a weird winter—we’ve had almost no snow or cold weather this year; the ground never froze, really).

just when i thought the weekend couldn’t get any better, on saturday night i rounded the corner into the front hall and came upon this scene in the (so called) living room

what’s this?? david is blocking something—i didn’t even know he knew how!

ooooh, let’s go in a little closer to see what it is . . .

looks like he’s finished up that cashmere/wool wrap he’s been working on since last winter—the project that’s been halfway around the world and back again, woo-hoo!

i knew it was intended for me, but i didn’t know it was done. last i saw it, he needed to bind it off and was procrastinating because he had to learn something new.

it’s lovely and a wonderful record of his progress in knitting. when i look at the beginning edge i am reminded of just how much of a challenge this project was for him at first (cookie and ysolda will confirm it; he needed constant guidance during those first ten inches or so).

but somewhere around the time he got into the second cake of yarn, a light bulb went off somewhere and all the information we repeatedly repeated clicked into place, so that by the time i went off to london and the west cost this summer, he was able to spend long evenings working away without a hitch.

by the time i got back he was very close to the other end of the piece and it was looking very well indeed.

and his knitting shows marked improvement from a year ago, yes?

 

i love that when i wrap it around myself i can see both ends side by side; i’m completely smitten with the pair of them.

what a fabulous birthday gift! why didn’t i get modeling shots before it got dark today?

i wonder what he’ll knit next?
(heh; no rest for the weary mister knitspot!)

yesterday he unpinned it and tonight i’ll show him how to weave in the ends. then it will be mine to wear as i please, yay!

i think he deserves a new pair of socks, don’t you?

i’ve been inspired to keep my promise of knitting a little bit each day on his and amad’s basketweave design.

and whaddaya know? they are indeed growing. huh.

i’m also making great progress on the front of his enchanted forest sweater—i’ve gotten all the way through the armhole shaping now, which makes those rows a lot shorter and faster to work.

still, a guy sweater in sport weight involves a LOT of knitting; i’m glad it’s a simple pattern with great rhythm that i can easily knit while watching TV.

the pleasing textures go a long way toward motivating me toward the finish. once this piece is done, i have just one more big one to go.

but i can start writing the pattern this week, now that i’ve gotten this far. my measurements are working out as expected and i’ve no concerns about the fit at this point. i’ve gotten several other patterns on to the next step in the last couple of days, so my desk is momentarily clear—i think i can give myself the green light on starting it tomorrow morning, yay.

but for tonight, i think i’m going to wander upstairs and get reacquainted with wasp and rose; i need to pull that out, figure out where i was at last time i worked on it and get it back on track.

i also need to finish up the final hem chart for it, but that’s a story for another day . . .

56 thoughts on “YUM!

  1. That cake looks good! I’ve attempted a couple of german chocolate cakes for my dad…

    My husband makes my cake for my birthday, too. Usually I request something bizarre or unusual, testing him/showing him off :–) But I think this year I’m going to be asking for the Citrus Surprise cake in the King Arthur Whole Grains book (I love that book); I made it for my mother and definitely want it again…

    And that wrap? Yep. Looks like you had a good birthday!

  2. I know you had a wonderful birthday. What a very lovely, very loving gift from your dear David. That wrap is amazing! How lucky you both are to be able so share so much of your lives. xx

  3. So glad you had such a lovely birthday! And my! what a gorgeous wrap. I am SOOOOO impressed with David. Can’t wait to see what he knits up next. xx

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