The Power of Suggestion

I've been stalking Zimmermania for months and finally joined up. It's funny, I've had EZ's Knitting Without Tears for awhile now, but never really got the urge to make anything of hers until I started seeing everyone else's EZ stuff online. I blame my initial lack of enthusiasm on the not-too-flattering pictures and drawings in her books, and my failure of imagination. My moment of revelation came as it did for many others - the stunning Seamless Hybrid that brooklyn tweed revealed in August. I can't tell you how many times I have gone back to that post and its luscious photographs. I am obsessed with that sweater, and, judging from all the other Zimmermaniacs making it, I am not alone.

But that's not what I'm making right now. I think it'll be fall before I get one of those on the needles (for My Old Man, for whom, you may remember, I already have a sweater on the needles, though I'm clearly in no rush to finish it). No, it's the Tomten that's got my number right now. Glorious garter stitch, modular shaping, minimal seaming, and a pointed hood - what's not to love? So I'm making a pair for my boys, in KnitPicks Sierra. I had three skeins of Sierra (in Lettuce) left from My Old Man's anniversary sweater. I figured it would take four skeins to make a whole tomten, and I wanted to do a stripe around the edge in Pool, so I ordered a skein of that.


Turns out that though I think four total skeins would still be the right number, I misjudged the amount of yarn I would use for the size stripe I wanted. I'm down to just a few inches of Pool and still have the hood and both sleeves to do. Other than the time spent waiting on a new KnitPicks shipment (which will also include yarn to do the second tomten in Pool with a Lettuce edge), this is shaping up to be a very fast knit.

Since I'm all about the power of suggestion these days, and since I can't move ahead on the tomten until my KP package arrive (tracking says its in a sortation center 30 minutes from here, but it's been there since yesterday and the tracking says it won't get here till Tuesday - good grief, maybe I could just get in my car and drive to the sortation center!), I may just have to knit myself a Calorimetry. I seem to be the only one around who hasn't done one yet.

The power of suggestion does not only persuade me in knitting. Super eggplant started talking about cupcakes yesterday. Not just talking - she showed a picture of the most yummy-looking decadent chocolate cupcake. And she included the recipe (from the Cake Doctor's cupcake book - there's a Cake Doctor CUPCAKE book, people! How did I not know this already?). I've been having a serious chocolate jones lately and nothing I've been eating has satisfied it. Had to make these. HAD to. And, for good measure, I ordered the book, too. Yeah, I'm a marketer's dream.


Even before the frosting, they were calling my name. Without the frosting, couldn't they be considered a muffin? You know, like for breakfast?

I wasn't the only one tempted by the cooling cupcakes.

In the battle with impulse control, the impulse clearly won. Oh, and Mommy might've told him to go touch it for the picture. (here's a lesson in how to confuse a kid: tell him not to do something 15 times in a row, then pull out your camera and tell him to go ahead and do it, then put your camera away and tell him not to do it again)

Oh, but the frosting is what makes them truly decadent. That chocolate jones? Totally satisfied now. I mean, for tonight. Breakfast time tomorrow? Now that's a different story. Becky, I'll try to save you one. (Becky's going to watch my boys while I work tomorrow, since My Old Man is out of town. Yeah, I made a whole batch of cupcakes for a household of one adult and two toddlers. What of it?)