Knit night, vegan treasure, PSA.

Recently, my friends and I are sufficiently busy with work, grad school, family, etc, that it is difficult to see one another very often. So we began getting together every Thursday to knit at The Cider House. It is sometimes more about cider and catching up than knitting, but we make up for it with the sheer volume of yarn and needles piled onto the bar.

This Thursday, there were also some excellent vegan birthday spoils. Ashley brought me flowers (green-grown-and-wrapped-in-corn-plastic, no less), and Stephanie brought me all sorts of goodies. The pictures are dark, because I hate having the flash on in a dark public place. It would help me out if you would just think of it as artsy or romantic. Have a look:

She made birthday cake! This is the basic chocolate cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, with raspberry extract added. It was delicious. Also, precious.


And in case you can't read the title in my incredibly romantic lighting, this is Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein, which I have been coveting forever.


Ho-made cupcake birthday card!


And the ultimate, zombie MadLibs. I adore zombies.


Steph and Ashley, buzzing on birthday cake.


Me, Ashley, grin.


Erin's husband Matty, a welcome party crasher.


Some knitters. From the left: Pam, me, Erin (our resident expert), Stephanie, Judy.


Oh! And Patrick made us a logo. We have a logo. How awesome is it, anyway?


And before I end this post, a word about wool. If you are going to knit, please consider using cotton, acrylic, bamboo, or any of the other non-animal based yarns. Sheep raised for wool, like most animals raised for industry, are treated like machines and are kept in conditions that would horrify you. Plus, wool is itchy.