Knitting Centered Blog Regarding All Things Design Related

Monday, April 27, 2009

Another sewing project, and more!

I made another knitting needle roll-up case, this time for my straight and double-pointed needles. Prior, they were all just jumbled in a drawer, and a pain in the butt to dig through. So, I headed over to Jo-Ann (where they are having an awesome sale, btw) and went a little nuts in the fat quarters. I did have the project in mind, though, so in addition to looting all their cat-themed prints, I got fabric for this:




(I haven't snipped all the threads yet)

Ta-da! It holds all my needles! With some room to add more needles, as I like bamboo straight needles in anything over a size 5. Less than that, and I break them. The back has batting and is quilted like the other one I made; it gives it just enough structure and support. And now I have an empty drawer to organize all the fat quarters I seem to be amassing.

You probably noticed all the Knitpicks needles in the bottom row and are wondering, "Knitpicks? But Nancy, weren't you just hating on them?". Well, yes, however, I must admit that one product of theirs that I have been very impressed with is their nickel-plated DPNs. Sharp, pointy, sturdy, don't bend - they are awesome. I'd buy DPNs from them any day.


I put the Everlasting Bagstopper to the test on Sunday, and boy does it stretch! To the point where it is hard to carry if the stuff is too heavy and stretches it down to your knee, or past it. If I ever make another one, I will make it about half the length.


And a third thing. Does anyone know how to frost a cake? I suck at it. Yes, I have tried warming up the frosting and the cake is always completely cooled before I try to frost it, but for some reason, I just can't frost a cake! I have a special spreader and everything (thank you Cutco wedding registry). When I try to frost across the top of the cake, the top if it just rips off. And then the whole thing just goes to crap. This also happens with cupcakes. This is very bad, as I love cake. It doesn't stop me from eating said dilapidated cake, but I plan to have kids, and I heard that they have birthdays, and at these things called "birthdays" they eat cake, and I would really like to make it for them, because I am too damn cheap and stubborn to call Baskin Robbins. I know I can master this, but I need serious guidance:




It looks like someone has already chewed it up. If anyone out there has cake frosting tips or advice, I need it! Help!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Since I've moved to NM, I've noticed that cakes are much trickier to bake and frost. I think it has to do with the dryness (and a bit of elevation)... the cakes are drier and more crumbly, but if you shorten the cooking time to preserve the moisture, they collapse. It looks like your frosting is too thick, just mix more liquid in and be very gentle when frosting. You could also try brushing away the crumbs before frosting, so they don't get mixed in.

Paula said...

bakerella.blogspot.com - might have some good tips on how to frost a cake. I've never had much success with canned frosting - but recently made a buttercream frosting from her blog and it was SUPER easy to frost. I even made cute little cupcakes that looked like Easter Baskets.
Check it out.

Heather said...

I'll bet that cake tasted yummy, though! Try dipping your froster tool into very warm water between spreads. It help it keep from sticking. Love your needle cases!