Cubicle kitchen: Traditional Shortbread with Earl Grey Glaze

Okay, everyone.  I promise, I really did go to the UK.  It was not a dream, nor was it a extreme fib to excuse a blogging break.  I was there for a relatively few short days, and I filled those days with lovely walks in the park, yummy food, a little culture and of course a few yarn stores.

I still hope to share some photos from my trip in later posts.  But to prove my point, here is just one from another 'of course'.  At least it was an of course for me.  Because when I would visit my grandparents for weeks at a time during the summer when I was a kid, Hamley's, the seven-story toy store, was always high on my list of places I had to go to.  So even as a twenty-something, I have to have a wander around.

Though I was able to keep myself from buying any toys, I did snap some photos of these excellent Lego displays:

First, the Queen and one of her Corgis, and then Prince William and Kate doing the wedding wave alongside Charles and Harry.  There you have it, proof that I was there less than three years ago.

Further circumstantial evidence could be taken by the fact that the first klatch treat I made after the trip was shortbread with a tea glaze.  What can I say, I was feeling British.  These are excellent for enjoying with your tea, which should of course be drunk out of some Royal Wedding china.

Traditional Shortbread with Earl Grey Glaze

Ingredients

• One batch shortbread; I used this heirloom recipe from Gale Martin
• About 1 cup powdered sugar
• About a tablespoon of strongly brewed Earl Grey tea, cooled

Directions

1. In a cup or small bowl, sift powdered sugar.  Add tea and use a fork to mix until you reach the desired consistency.  I look for it to easily flow from the tines of the fork, but not drip.
2. Drizzle glaze over cooled and cut shortbread.  Allow to dry.

Wind-swept and interesting, the traveller returns

'Ello, 'ello, 'ello!  I'm back, jolly blog readers!

I was already back last week, but between wicked jet lag and possibly having caught a bit of a bug, I felt lousy and decided to extend my blog vacation past my real life vacation.  I'm feeling better now, though, so it's time to try and get back into the swing of things.  My trip gave me a lot of ideas for blog posts, plus I have some drafts of things I didn't manage to put out before I left.  So there should be plenty to talk about for the next few weeks.

I'm not sure where to start, though, so I'll keep this a fairly lazy Sunday and tease you with some highlights from my trip:

• A few walks in the park, and a visit to a stately home with a rose garden
• Lots of culture, as absorbed from the National Gallery and Tate Modern
• Several cups of tea, but even more cappuccinos
• Some essential shopping on Regent Street
• A delicious journey through Borough Market
• Two DIY presents finally revealed in a birthday celebration
• Delicious food from cuisines across the globe, from a full English breakfast Indian curry takeaway to Korean steak tartare
• And of course, a couple of yarn stores!

Inspiration Saturday: Affectionately Yours, Jerome

I don't know that I've ever been particularly trendy.  Except perhaps by accident, happening to love something that everyone else loves for a while, like cupcakes.  Except while cupcakes are declared 'over' by some, I'm still obsessed.  The only time I could possibly be construed to be a trendsetter was when I was a kid and during my summer vacation with family in the UK I was introduced to the Spice Girls at the point when they were topping the British charts but still hadn't crossed over to the US.  So I was able to come into school in the fall with 'Wannabe' already stuck in my head.

But with more recent trends, like say the universal knitalong that Color Affection seemed to be a couple of years ago, I'm not even fashionably late.  Casting on yesterday, it feels like I'm closer to the second wave of trend that comes with something being 'retro' than with the initial popularity.  What can I say?  I was waiting for just the right moment to jump on the stripe train.

And that moment is now.  It's going to be my second handmade project for a long-term swap.  This particular swap doesn't have a defined theme, and I've had a little trouble coming up with a connective thread on my own.  But what is developing is a box of things that take inspiration from personal tidbits from my life.  The Krtek cowl was from my Czech childhood heritage, and this shawl is going to be from my recent trip to Phoenix.

We took a day trip out to Jerome, a former mining turned ghost town that is now a sort of local tourist spot with weekend trippers stopping by for artsy shopping and gorgeous views.  The panorama of mountains near and far is impressive, but I actually found my colors for this shawl in a rocky close up at one of the museums:

I love the brilliant blue-greens of the Azurite and Malachite, with a little stony gray reminding you that this is really a piece of rock.  Mother Nature is amazing, isn't she?

I found some KnitPicks Gloss Fingering to recreate the color palate:

Right now, I have just 57 stitches, but I know that soon enough I will have hundreds and hundreds in a single row.  Thankfully I have a few months to get it done, and I have the advice of all of the many knitters who completed it before me to guide me.

Where do you find the most inspiring colors in nature?  Do you follow trends, in crafting or otherwise?

For more inspiration, go to Woolen Diversions.