I don’t know how many years Knitty’s Fetching by Cheryl Niamath has been in my queue. It’s one of the most popular patterns on Ravelry with 16394 projects and always increasing in numbers! I finally got the chance to start it this weekend while watching the Harry Potter marathon on TV and now I see why it’s so popular. It’s a quick yet satisfying projects knitted in the round, with lots of fun working cables, and perfect for an advance-beginner like me.

It calls for the lovely Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran which I didn’t have on hand, BUT – I did have Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran which was just as nice to work with. I am one of those people whose hands always get cold, so my first practice pair will be for me – it’s perfect for the winter season. I will definitely be knitting a few more as gifts!

C’mon now, sing with me!

        Bah la, ba la la laaaa
        Bah la, ba la la laaaa
        BUNDT-day BUNDT-day
        So good to me
        BUNDT-day morning
        It was all I hoped it would be…

Yes folks, it’s November 15th, which means it is National Bundt Cake Day! I never knew such day existed until I read about it on Mary the Food Librarian’s blog last year in which she did 30 Bundts in 30 days! It was an amazing feat for sure, until this year when she decided to do it again, and in the middle of it all, single-handedly created a dessert bar for my friend Jun’s wedding (Mary wrote about it here). How incredible is that?!

I know this little blog of mine has been solely dedicated to my knitting hobby, but I figured what the heck, since I write about being craftsy with yarn here, I might as well write about my occasional craftsy endeavors in the kitchen.

Growing up, I never really liked cake with frosting. I’m not sure if it’s an Asian thing, but frosting is just too sickeningly sweet to me. I would eat the cake and the filling (usually fruit) and leave the frosting untouched. What a waste! Now the Bundt cake is a different story – there’s just a leeeetle bit of icing on top, and more often than not, there is NO icing or just powdered sugar. My Mom made Bundt cakes when I was growing up and we always enjoyed them a lot. Ever since I moved out, got married and now have my own kitchen, I’ve made plenty of cakes and treats, but it never occurred to me to make a Bundt cake until now!

The Bundt I decided to make is a Lemon Bundt Cake. Since this was my first Bundt from scratch, I was a little scared, so I found the easiest-looking recipe online. But because I didn’t want a clear glaze but more like a runny icing (is that the correct term?) like a classic Bundt, I added about a cup of powdered sugar to the glaze.

Here are the action shots!

Some ingredients: 1 Bundt pan, 2 sticks of butter, 3 lemons (I got mine from the Friday Farmer’s Market!), 4 eggs.

(I borrowed my Mom’s Bundt cake pan since mine didn’t arrive in time)

The dry ingredients. I use a my trusty Microplane Grater/Zester for the lemon zest. It’s so much faster than using a zesteur!

Mixing up the wet ingredients: butter, sugar, vanilla extract, lemon extract

The Bundt pan, Pam-ed and floured. I don’t have the specialty Pam for baking so I did it the old-fashioned way.

Batter up! Such a nice pretty pale yellow.

Ready for the oven!

Making the icing. With a tablespoon of lemon zest, it smells so lemony and wonderful.

Bundt out of the oven! But is it done?

Yay, clean! (Since this is my first Bundt, I hope I didn’t over-bake it…)

Bundt cooling on the rack. It came out of the pan easily after 10 minues. Phew!

Now it’s glazed and ready for National Bundt Day!

Now that I’m looking at the last photo again, I realize I need to take glazing lessons. It looks a little too drippy, not like the lovely classic Bundt that I envisioned. But, like I always say with my knitting projects – the next one will be better! :)

Thank you for the inspiration, Mary!

[Note: This post was written Sunday evening and I've scheduled it to post Monday morning. Fingers crossed it turned out okay!]

This is SO COOL!!! DIY yarn ball winder instructions at Instructibles.com. I have a $20 ball winder from KnitPicks that I love, but I do have a DIY swift that my handy husband made for me last year. Truth be told, I think I’d rather spend the $20 for a ball winder that can be taken apart to fit in a small box – this DIY winder looks like it’ll take up half the size of my craft table! But it sure looks like it makes a nice big ball of yarn (one of the problems I have with my current winder is the balls are too small). It looks really neat, and if DIY is your thing, that’s definitely a cool-looking contraption!

( via CraftZine)

Yes, I am knee-deep in baby sweaters! I’m just knitting them one after another and happily doing so. I think this is the 5th(?) baby sweater I’ve made this year. It just gives me so much joy and satisfaction to be able to give something special that I’ve made by hand.

This was a new pattern I decided to try, Presto Chango (I know it’s “change-oh” but I keep wanting to say “chang-go“!) by Valerie Wallis, published at Jimmy Bean’s Wool. It’s a FREE pattern by the way! Such a nice and quick knit, and the leaf pattern in the front is so delicate and so pretty.

I took the liberty of improvising a hat to go with the sweater – just did leaf panels in multiples of 16, then decreased in multiples of 8. Easy and fun!

The yarn used is di.Vé Zenith in Mariner’s Green, and I found THE perfect bright red vintage buttons to go with them at one of my frequent flea marketing trips. These two bright colors are meant to be together. :)

I’m currently knitting another Presto Chango, but in a much muted color. Hope it turns out just as cute as this one!

Yes, another February Baby Sweater! I have been getting good practice with my gull pattern thanks to my friends/family who are having babies! So far I have made six of them, four for girls and two for boys. Everyone just loves these so much!

One thing I love about knitting in lace patterns how different it looks from the average stockinette. It makes a garment look so much more special. And if you have made this sweater, you know the instructions are really just two paragraphs!

I have to say, Elizabeth Zimmermann was a genius :)

Yarn used is Rowan RYC Cashsoft Baby DK (Microfiber, Cashmere, Wool) in Cloud. It really is so very soft! Buttons are vintage.

And of course, the pattern is from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitter’s Almanac.

I’m currently working on the Bamboo Diamond Shell from Boutique Knits by Laura Irwin. This is one of the best knitting books I have purchased in the past year – the patterns are wonderful and all the pieces are unique and beautiful.

I had trouble with counting my CO stitches and kept ending up with too many or too few. After taking it apart 4 times I’m finally on the right track! The bamboo cotton blend is Southwick by Valley Yarns – it’s nice and “bouncy,” really nice to work with and the subtle sheen is lovely. I’m about 3/4 through the bodice now and will be separating the sleeves soon. The diamond pattern is really easy as I got the hang of it too.

I decided to work the bodice longer so it’s something more wearable for me. I love how it looked in the book, hopefully it will look just as nice with a longer bodice.

(Image from LionBrand.com)

I saw this scarf in the Winter 2009 Lion Brand catalog and knew I had to make it for my friend Winnie. The colors of the yarn used (Lion Brand’s LB Collection Superwash Merino in mulberry & mahogany) are so fantastic together!

The gorgeous cityscape-like pattern is created by knitting short rows with the mulberry and the rich brown as the base. Using size 4 needles, this was a really fun knit. I finished it just in time for Winnie’s birthday in March and was so glad she loved it.

As luck would have it, I found this vintage button at the antique fair just a few weeks before I finished the scarf. In the same shade as the mulberry, it was the perfect color and size. Is that the perfect button or what?

The pattern is free and can be downloaded here (you need to sign up with Lion Brand). It is classified as “Intermediate” but I think it should really be for the “Advanced Beginner.” All it involves is the knit stitch, decreasing, short rows (this version is really simple and sounds harder than it is. No “wrapping” involved), and making a buttonhole. I was able to do it and I’m definitely not an intermediate knitter. Knitting with two colors and doing short rows kept it interesting while not frustrating at all. If you like knitting with smaller needles, this is a perfect project with a big impact.