Having My Cake and Eating It Too

Monday night Master Blackhead and I baked a cake. Something sweet to lessen the bitterness of the Great Debacle. Nothing fancy, just a Strawberry cake out of a box. In my frugal nature, instead of buying the matching Pillsbury Strawberry frosting, I decided to make do with the three cans of quarter full frosting in the fridge. The end result? Behold the Frankenfrost Strawberry Cake!

When I asked Master Blackhead if he would like a slice of the butter cream side or the lemon side, he said both. And he wanted a big slice. Well, I hate to disappoint. I cut him an eighth and plopped it (with plate and fork) into his lap. His reaction? Ummm that's a big slice. So hard to please.

As for nearly finished projects, here's a photo of the promised Koigu PPPM sock. Koigu is lovely to knit. It even has a slight luster, which delights me to no end. I had oringinally picked this yarn for myself, but realized that it wasn't for me after starting the foot. They are now earmarked for Master Blackhead. He seemed happy about that.


Another Master Blackhead project that is coming down the pipeline, a fiery red orange sweater made out of MamaSara's Princess. Here's a swatch of it.


I last mentioned his requirements. Well, he's made peace with the Mr. Rogers look since Fred's sweaters were zipped. Besides, he wore the Cambridge Jacket I knitted him last Christmas just about everyday until it got hot. Back to the Princess sweater (working name). Incidentally, I don't think I've told him that the yarn is called Princess. Probably shouldn't. I really like these two sweaters, plus they are worn by some pretty cool dudes.

This also came to mind, but I think the thought of spending all that time on something intentionally obnoxious makes no sense to me.

As I work on the Princess Sweater, I find my self in good company. Jynx has been looking at Norah Gaughan's athos pattern (my working copy) for the last few hours. The two hand wound balls of yarn in the background are Araucania Atacama another Stash transplant.


He has yet to ask for yarn and needles, but my gut tells me it could be any day now. When I asked him if he'd like me to flip the page for him, this is the look I got. I'm not sure how to interpret it?

I have been making good progress on the pink MistiCotton sweater: The body is done, the first sleeve is done up to the armpit, and the second sleeve is just past the hemmed cuff. I'm contemplating just how to make the collar. I've experimented with a couple of stitches and like this one the best so far. It's called Mock Smock and is from a pattern-a-day calendar MamaSara gave me. It reminds me of a caned seat.


I've also signed up for at Computer-Aided Engineering class at the local university. While I think getting a PhD is a fabulous accomplishment, I don't feel prepared for the corporate world of R&D. I'm taking the classes I should have taken in grad school to patch up the holes. I'm really excited to be learning again. Maybe I'm just one of those lifetime students. Despite being local, the drive from home to the university is still beastly; so, I'm taking the class as a distance learning thing. Even though it costs extra, I think it's still a bargain when gas and time are factored into the calculation.

Well, it's lunch time and there's a piece of cake calling me. I haven't tasted it yet. I hope the Frankenfrost isn't too weird.