Crazy about knitting? Here's my Knitting Basket Cake!

Hello Everyone,
Im really excited to present to you my most recent cake which was this Knitting Basket Cake! Funnily enough I had been planning this cake for over a year! I first saw a knitting cake on google images when first starting cake decoating. The idea stuck and when my Grandmothers 80th came around there was no doubt to what cake I was going to do.

Heres the end product:

This cake used much different tools than any other cake ive previously done.
This is a list of the equiptment used:
Hand Mixer
Oven
Refrigerator
Microwave
Patchwork Embosser - Basket weave
Clay extruder
Tappit Cutters
8 x 11' oval cake tin
Parchment paper
Rolling pin
Mixer
Small, medium and large crank handle/ offset spatulas which are used for "ganaching" and "hot knifing" a cake
PME modeling tools
PME Tappit Letter Cutters
Cake Boards
Wilton Ribbon Cutter
Paint Brushes
Luster Dust
Wilton Coloring
Floral Wire
Leaf Veiner

Ingredients/Products used:
Chocolate, Milk
35% Milk Fat Cream
Icing Sugar
Caramel Mud Cake

This cake was rushed, believe it or not. As much as you may think it doesnt look rushed it most certaintly was. Timing for this cake was a bit of a nightmare due to personal events.
1 Days before the event - First thing is bake cakes in the morning as thats a time consuming event and other tasks can be done while baking like - Make ganache, make kitting balls and cover presentation board.
After the cake is cooked and cooled its covered with ganache (a perfect ganaching is not needed as the fondant covering will be embossed so the wont be noticable lumps). The cake is then immediately wrapped in fondant, (the fondant is rolled into two embossed rectangles then pressed up the side of the cake in halves and trimmed to have a seam).
Next the cake is placed onto the precovered board and given additiona featured like the beave on top of the basket, blanket, weaved handles and knitting balls.
Finally the cake is given the details on the board and 80 on the basket itself.

As you can read this cake was yes, done in a whole day! I was very pleased at how it turned out so was my grandmother, family and the staff at TGIF.

Again heres the link to my facebook page for all recent jobs and info! -
www.facebook.com/cakedreamsau