Craftiness and Cupcakes on W.I.P. Wednesday

Lately I have been trying to overcome my left-brained tendencies and get a little crafty. So when Shellyfish introduced her Work-In-Progress (W.I.P) Wednesdays last week, I thought I would join in on the fun occcasionally (maybe once a month I'll post my crafty endeavors)!

Now I know I'm supposed to post works-in-progress, but I couldn't help but showing off a few completed crafty things. Starting with cupcakes of course! But these are no ordinary cupcakes.... they are crafty cupcakes. I made these to bring to an amigurumi class at Sew Crafty Houston, my first attempt at crocheting (and definitely not my first attempt at cupcakes)!

And how perfect is it that we crocheted cupcake ornaments? I still need to work on my crocheting technique....
I've also been learning to sew. I haven't moved beyond straight lines and 90 degree turns yet, but maybe someday soon. This weekend I made up a bunch of reusable bags to use for Christmas gifts. These are so easy to make! Just four straight lines of sewing, a few more if you want to add a handle. And the more you give them away, the less everyone will use wasteful wrapping paper.
And now for the real "works-in-progress", all knitting projects for Christmas! These projects are all at a beginner's level, and most involve just knitting and purling. I'm knitting as fast as I can to finish these up before the 25th. There is a boy hat, fetching fingerless gloves (okay this one is for me, but I've put them on hold till after the holiday), a pair of yoga socks using bamboo and soy yarn, and a one-row scarf. Not to mention I need to cast on three more dishrags!
There is something very magical and rewarding about a handmade gift. With each stitch that is sewn, every row that is purled or every cookie that is baked, there is also a lot of love that goes into that fabric, yarn, or dough. As I'm working on a particular gift, I often think of times I've spent with that person or how they might use what I'm making them. It has helped me understand the true spirit of giving. What handmade projects are you working on for the holidays?

VeganMofo: A Crafty MoFo

I recently picked up knitting as a new hobby. All I've been knitting so far are dishcloths for xmas gifts, and I figured it would be fun to knit one for myself honoring this vegan month of food. Just in case anyone wants one for themselves, I've included the pattern as well. This dishcloth is perfect for cleaning up all the messes I make in the kitchen!

Vegan MoFo Dishcloth

Supplies: worsted weight orange cotton yarn (I used Sugar'n Cream), US size 8 needles
CO 43 sts.
Rows 1-7: Knit across
Row 8 and all wrong side rows through 48: K4, P35, K4
Row 9: Knit across
Row 11: Knit across
Row 13: K4, K2, P1, K3, P1, K2, P4, K3, P3, K4, P1, K4, P1, K3, P1, K2, K4
Row 15: K4, K2, P1, K3, P1, K2, P1, K5, P1, K2, P1, K3, P1, K1, P1,K3, P2, K2, P1, K2, K4
Row 17: K4, K2, P1, K3, P1, K2, P1, K5, P1, K6, P1, K1, P1, K3, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K2, K4
Row 19: K4, K2, P1, K3, P1, K2, P3, K3, P1, K1, P2, K3, P3, K3, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K2, K4
Row 21: K4, K3, P1, K1, P1, K3, P1, K5, P1, K2, P1, K2, P1, K3, P1, K2, P1, K2, P2, K2, K4
Row 23: K4, K3, P1, K1, P1, K3, P1, K5, P1, K2, P1, K2, P1, K3, P1, K2, P1, K2, P2, K2, K4
Row 25: K4, K4, P1, K4, P4, K3, P2, K3, P1, K3, P1, K2, P1, K3, P1, K2, K4
Row 27: Knit across
Row 29: Knit across
Row 31: K4, K5, P1, K4 P1, K3, P2, K3, P4, K3, P2, K7, K4
Row 33: K4, K5, P2, K2, P2, K2, P1, K2, P1, K2, P1, K5 P1, K2, P1, K6, K4
Row 35: K4, K5, P1, K1, P2, K1, P1, K1, P1, K4, P1, K1, P1, K4, P1, K4, P1, K5, K4
Row 37: K4, K5, P1, K4, P1, K1, P1, K4, P1, K1, P3, K2, P1, K4, P1, K5, K4
Row 39: K4, K5, P1, K4, P1, K1, P1, K4, P1, K1, P1, K4, P1, K4, P1, K5, K4
Row 41: K4, K5, P1, K4, P1, K2, P1, K2, P1, K2, P1, K5, P1, K2, P1, K6, K4
Row 43: K4, K5, P1, K4, P1, K3, P2, K3, P1, K6, P2, K7, K4
Row 45: Knit across
Row 47: Knit across
Rows 49-53 Knit across. Bind off in Knit stitch.

Pushing 30

I am now officially in the last year of my 20's. Here I am blowing out the first of two sets of candles.

If you remember my birthday last year, John made me an ice cream cake. Well this year he outdid himself and made a mocha devastation cake (from My Sweet Vegan) and got fancy with a piping bag! It was a lesson in patience to stand by and watch someone else decorate a cake, but I tried my best to keep my mouth shut (except I had to say something when he accidentally wrote a "b" instead of a '"p" in "happy"). I can't wait to see how he tops this next year!!
Sunday was the Houston Vegan Knitters first meeting, the perfect occassion to make knit cupcakes (inspired of course by vegan yumyum's version)! Simple vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream right out of VCTOTW decorated with natural sprinkles and fondant "knitting". One was a mini-version of my very first knitting project, a pink and white dishcloth (which I'm still working on). I am so excited for more knitting projects, including making blankets to donate to pet shelters, a hobo bag, belt, fruit cozies, cupcakes, and maybe a scarf or two. Now I just need to learn how to purl....
I have been in the mood to make a fancy dinner ever since I saw the recipe for Emerald Rice Cakes in the June 2008 Vegetarian Times (originally from Millennium). There were four separate elements to this dish, including a butternut squash puree, habanero jerk sauce, homemade seitan and cauliflower stir fry, and jasmine rice cakes. It was certainly worth all of the work, and the puree and sauce could easily be made a few days ahead.

And on my actual birthday (the 8th), my mom made me a chocolate pecan pie (from La Dolce Vegan), since the weekend had been been filled with too much cake already. The two red candles apparently represented 10 candles each.... 29 candles on one cake is a bit too much.
Thanks so much to everyone for the birthday wishes!!! And a special thanks to my family and friends for making it such a special weekend.