afternoon tea

 

Mmm... French apple cake for tea today. I couldn't resist adding a dash of cardamom and a dash of nutmeg to the cinnamon-sugar topping when I was baking.

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Toggle buttons have been procured for my Shalder cardigan. The pickings were awfully slim at my fabric store, and shopping for buttons online is a soul-crushing endeavor. These are La Mode style no. 29442 (hook 608).

Here's a vague idea how they'll look sewn on:

My cardigans are almost always worn open, so the buttons probably won't see much actual use.

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My owl baby vest pattern is now available en español, by the way! Muchas gracias to Cecilia, aka wenlita, for the translation.

best. cookies. ever.

 in the kitchen

The melt-in-your-mouth buttermilk chocolate cookies recipe from Baking Bites truly lives up to its name.  These are amazingly good.  Rich and chocolatey, chewy and just a little bit tangy.  The recipe doesn't call for any eggs, which is surprising and also very handy to have in your recipe arsenal.  Then again, it's quite rare that my fridge is stocked with buttermilk but no eggs.

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on & off the needles

The baby boom continues among my friends and relative (it must be an early-thirties thing), so I'm working on baby gifts!  This is my first foray into knitting wool soakers, a concept that's simultaneously awesome and kind of gross. 

Pattern: Adaptation, by Connie Stults (free!)

Yarn: Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool, "Lakeshore," ~ 2/3 skein

Needles: US 5 and 7 straights, US 7 DPNs

Size: medium (21" hips)

my ravelry project page

Notes:

An easy and quick pattern!  These are knit flat in one piece and then seamed up the sides.  You then pick up stitches for the legs.  I had a hard time figuring out how loosely to bind off the leg openings.  We'll see how they work!  Next time I'd try a pattern that's knit in the round, as the seams may be a bit annoying.  These are worn over bulky diapers, so the seams won't be next to the skin at least.

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on the tube

I'm totally hooked on The Fabulous Beekman Boys on the Green channel this summer.  Brent and Josh, a couple of "big city" guys, have renovated a beautiful farm in upstate New York and are building a business making goat cheese and goat milk soap, two of my favorite things in the world. These guys are a hoot, and I just love how Farmer John cares so much for his goats.  Brent's really something -- kind of a drama queen, and Josh manages to keep the couple tethered down to earth. Josh, of course, is a Wisconsin native. :-)

Aren't their goats adorable?  

On the subject of cheese and Wisconsin, check out this recent Lottie & Doof (foodie) blog post on visiting Madison, my alma mater. If you haven't made it to Madison yet, you should go now.  Like stat. But don't tell me about it, as I'll be very jealous.