two down, three to go

We had a wonderful birthday weekend here--the weather was perfect, if a touch on the muggy side, and the long weekend made it seem even more like a prolonged celebration. First we had a fun and crafty "camp" (a 1-hour event) at the zoo...



Then, there was a party. The cupcakes were tasty, but a bit wonky in the decoration. Perhaps the cute pool party fabric will distract the eye.



The most important thing, of course, was the happiness of the guest of honor, who spent some time mulling over her options



and ended up deciding to spend much of the afternoon bouncing on her chair in the den.



Now that that's over, I can start laying plans for my next project, a Clapotis! No, I haven't yet finished the sweater, but I'm working on the sleeves now...and what is more dull than sleeves, really? So, as I stockinette stitch myself silly, I dream of Black Purl.



I've also splurged on some cute stitch markers for the occasion, mighty cute cupcakes from amyville:



and I've made a couple of my own...these are OK, but I'm really looking forward to getting out the Shrinky Dinks and following the fab tutorial from illanna, though instead of photos I'm going to draw pictures. Big plans for everybody.



Oh, right. The book. Well, I am going to be going on a research trip completely devoted to a chapter next week, so that will be progress...and I actually have done some good work on my database. What am I off to do now? Um...sleeves. I have done some extracurricular reading, and have one finished project to boast of:



The cozy was one of the "in case of rain" crafting options for the party. And it's already coming in handy.