Alice in Wonderland: Kate's second fabulous cake

 This cake is truly epic! Kate made this for our friend's wedding shower this past weekend, and needless to say, it was a hit. Check out the details! Patience really is a virtue, you know.

 

And after we ate the top layer, Kate just kept on decorating!Something tells me everyone's going to fight over the piece that gets topped with the fondant queen. It was truly heartwarming to see adults vying for a slice with a character on it. Just goes to show much we all appreciated the work that went into this. Compliments to the chef!

Cake decorated by: Kate Stewart

Kate's St. Patrick's Day Cake!

Isn't it scrumptious? My friend and her roommate are ambitious when it comes to cake decorating, hence the itty bitty shamrocks on the bottom row. The icing on this cake is fondant. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better.....

...cut the cake and you get flashback to the 60s! Just plain awesome! I will have to try this with a cake at some point, or maybe with some of my cupcakes? Recently she made a second cake that was similar, only the theme was Alice in Wonderland, and it was decorated with fondant characters. When I get the pictures, I will share them here.

Cake decorated by: Kate Stewart

Little Mermaid Gift for my Knitting Teacher

 Manda, if you are reading this, you will now know that I took your request for a mermaid very seriously. Here she is! I love this pattern so much, I'll use any excuse to make them....but since I don't have space for a dozen mermaids of my own, I am happy to give them away to good homes. This cute little mermaid is made from a pattern written by Sayjai Thawornsupacharoen. The pattern is posted on her blog at http://kandjdolls.blogspot.com/2010/11/little-mermaid-free-amigurumi-crochet.html

Here she is, enjoying a day at the beach, along with the little starfish I made (right). Manda, do you want a starfish with your mermaid too? What a stupid question....of course you do! I'll make one before next week so she has a little friend. And speaking of friends....

 She will soon leave her little friend behind (my mermaid on the left). I thought it was only fair to take a best friends forever photo, just to remember the good times.

Crochet Sushi Pattern is under way...

 

It finally arrived! I got my copy of Yummi Gurumi by Christen Haden and Mariarosa Sala, and though most people would prefer real sushi, I'm really enjoying the sushi crochet pattern. This book wouldn't be bad for beginners, and it's packed with interesting food patterns (I'll probably work on the sandwich next).

Here's what I have done of my sushi pattern so far. I was going to wait until I finished it to post, but I'm so busy these days, I figured I'd share my progress so far. Ok, I'll admit, I am kind of sad it's not real sushi...from a certain distance it actually looks tasty. But chewing on yarn is for cats, not people, so I'll pass. I've made many changes to my pieces compared to the instructions in the book, but I'm happy with how they are turning out. I will be gifting my friend (who got me hooked on sushi!) with his own fabulous set.

Elegant Bunnies

Even though I made these bunnies last summer, I'm posting them now because I kept forgetting I still needed to take pictures of them. Finally got around to it, so here they are. The bunny on the left is made from a dinner napkin that already had the embroidery on the bottom edge. The other has a gold spiral with some beads that I added by hand. They make really nice decorations for the home. This pattern came from a book called Softies: Simple Instructions for 25 Plush Pals by Therese Laskey. I love this book because each of the patterns is very unique, and gives you an opportunity to practice your sewing techniques. I sewed these two by hand, but you could use a machine too, if you wanted.
This is the first sewing book I ever bought, and I am very happy with it.

Pretty New Knitting Book!

I've been waiting a while to get my hands on this gem.....Amigurumi Knits: Patterns for 20 cute mini knits by Hansi Singh.

Are you are a serious knitter? Yes? you must have this book. No? Get it for inspiration and motivation. Seriously, if the cover doesn't say it all, I don't know what else I can do to convince you. I love that scary anglerfish! The sad part is, I have not learned enough about knitting to make these yet, but in a few months, possibly.....OK, I actually bought the book as an incentive to learn more techniques....I guess wearables and larger projects just aren't my thing.....

I can't say enough about this book.....beautiful photos, well laid out, excellent designs (both the book itself and the patterns). If you know anything about knitting, you need this book.

Pretty Things!

After we got a pair of lovebirds, I discovered the joys of hoarding their tail feathers each time they begin to molt. I usually find them on the floor around the cage, or in the bottom of the cage, and snatch them up before they're destroyed by birdie poop. This one fell out of harm's way onto the rug. To keep things organic, I used a strange woolly blend fabric as a background.

And speaking of pretty....I give you five Scotch Bonnett Peppers.... don't you love the rich colours?