3 point cup cake

I made these yummy low-fat confetti cupcakes. The recipe was adapted from skinnyTaste.com

A bad storm was hitting as I put the recipe together and my Internet went out when I was almost done mixing. So the only difference between my recipe and the one at the link is that I added 1 egg and 2 egg whites. This made no difference in the overall point count and I can assume it added to the moisture. They turned out very good, even with out frosting. Instead of frosting we topped with fat free redi-whip. I do think it would even be better with cream cheese frosting but that would defeat the purpose of trying to eat low fat. These are definitely worth the try and I think I will also try with other types of cakes. The only problem with these is it is hard to stop at just one! Fortunately I have teenage kids in the house that will devour them before it gets too out of hand!

Lotsa spinnin' going on

I am enjoying spinning the cormo I bought a few weeks ago, it is spinning really thin (at least for me!). It is so fun to spin I don't want to put it down.

Some other spinning I am doing now is bike spinning! Dear hubby bought a new bike last year and has been riding a lot. He inspired me to want to get back in the saddle again too. I used to ride a lot many years ago. Now with the nest getting close to empty it seems like a good time to get back in to biking again. I rode a whole 20 miles total this weekend! Which of course is not very far at all compared to how much I used to ride and how many miles people on RAGBRAI are putting on this week but it is a start. The good news is my back feels terrific, the bad news, the buns definitely need to get used to riding again!

on and off my needles

I finished the Liesl cardigan. It is my second one and I enjoyed it. The pattern keeps your interest. I found a perfect button for it while shopping in Grinnell at the quilt shop. The yarn is

50/50 cotton and wool. I like the yarn but I am not a huge fan of knitting with cotton. It was still a little stiff for my taste. I managed to do some of the knitting in public while at Lake McBride a few weeks ago. Once I get a picture with the cardigan on me, I will post more pictures.

Here is the latest sweater on my needles. It is a very simple patter and the yarn makes the project. It is a lovely silk, cotton and tensel blend. I think it will be super cute to wear early fall with a pair of khaki cargo pants.

The Cormo connection

A couple weekends ago my dear Iowa City friend and I took a little road trip. The final quest was Cormo, the journey included a couple quilt shops and lunch along the way. Cormo is a very soft wool. It can be worn against a baby's skin.

The first stop was Grinnell, Iowa. It is such a neat town. I love the architecture of the buildings, all of the flowers and of course the quilt shop. White Stone quilt shop had some great fabric and a really fun block of the month that we both signed up for. The block of the month does not start until 2012 and is called sewing with your feet (using different sewing feet on your machine each month) Grinnell had a farmers market that morning and we strolled through the farmers market before continuing our eastward journey.

The next stop was a shop in Newton, owned by the same nice gal. Cornerstone Quilt shop was also a nice shop with a little different selection of fabrics. We enjoyed a nice lunch in Newton on the town square before heading North to the farm.

The Cormo connection started with a trip to Adel last Summer. My sweet Iowa City friend and I went to the Iowa Sheep and Wool fest in Adel. I purchased some very nice quality Cormo there from a gal that raises sheep on a farm North of Newton. We weren't able to make it out to the Iowa Sheep and Wool this year so we did some research and found Regina's information. I contacted Regina by phone and we decided a date to visit her farm and do a little fiber shopping.

Regina was a wonderful host and very sweet person. We hit it off with her and really enjoyed our visit. She showed us some of her fiber, showed us her beautiful flock of both fiber and commercial sheep and introduced us to a miniature mule family that are the sheep's protectors.

Thought those of you that are spinners out there would like to see a sample of a few of the items that I bought.

This is Cormo and Romney blended and is in cloud. I have not spun a lot of cloud so I am looking forward to giving it a "spin", haha.

This is the CA red braid. The CA red is raised for meat but she also using it for the wool too.

Here is a sample of silk, alpaca and cormo. talk about soft and luxurious! I would love to make a beaded shawl with this when I am good enough at spinning fine yarn.

Finally this is the pure Cormo goodness that we traveled East for. It is so lovely. I can not wait to spin it!

I also bought some dyed Cormo roving but didn't get a picture of it yet. I will post pictures when I get it spun.

Here are some of the flock. Take note that the sheep with coats are the ones for fiber, the ones without will land with a sauce on them someday. The black one is the one that gave up her fleece for my sweet IC friend to purchase. A black cormo fleece, oh my, be still my heart.

This pretty boy is a CA red. (I hope I am getting this all right, if not please leave a comment when you read this Gina!)

Here is me and my Iowa City pal with one of the only 3 asses we met that day. (technically I am not sure if a mule is an ass so just lighten up and laugh at it anyway!).



All and all it was a fantastic day, one of the best so far this year! Thank you Regina for sharing your farm and fiber with us! We can't wait to visit again, spinning wheels in hand!

lovin' summer

We were fortunate enough to get four days off over July 4th. Spent a ton of time on baseball diamonds, 7 games in 4 days, not including just dear son. We managed to squeeze in a quick family picnic too.

Next blog post I will get back to projects, promise!

Some of the Davison clan attended dear son's game in Dubuque on Tuesday. It was so fun to have so many relatives in the stands!

We are lovin' summer!