Thursday night at our Cardiff Knitters test knit night in Copa in Cardiff (testing out some new venues!!) Machelle delivered into my possession some of the amazing yarns that I have purchased form her new yarn collection Heavenly Infusions. Yummmmmmmmmy!!!!!
Despite having another cashmere shawl on a set of needles (my favourites in fact that don’t twirl up on you) and despite having to use the twirly up pair I have cast on another shawl (A waves of leaves shawl) using the Horizon Colourway from the collection. I just could not wait!!
Ladies and Gents just look at that colour!!! Amazing!!!!
So number of projects on needles umm…..
1. jumper for the other half,
2. cardie for sarah
3. purple cashmere shawl
4. socks
5. horizon shawl
and countless abandoned project festering in the yarn storage cupboard in my craft room photos including a hat, scarf, jumper for me (that I may have to frog) ummmmm oops!!
I have a mental block when it come to knitting for me EVERYONE and EVERYTHING else comes first! So I have decided to start a KAL on Ravelry to help me get past this block and use up some yarn I had dyed specially for me to make glove for myself thanks to an early offering from the Chopped Tomatoes Design Kitchen I have decided to use a Chopped Tomatoes pattern for the gloves and loved the simplicity of the design of the Not Socks Pattern Having downloaded the pattern it is amazing Machelle has photographed every step, stitch and tweak so even I can’t fluff it!!
If you want to come and Knit Along!! please comment here and add links to your blog posts about the KAL I will then reverse link to you in updates!!
This time they are for me!!! I seem to have caught the sock knitting bug as an in between/whilst doing big projects type of thing, bug, as I have cast off another pair of socks within the month and have now cast on another pair!!!!
Hummmmm me thinks the bug has been caught BAD!!! but YAY snuggly warm feet!! and some more destashing completed!!
Finally after much procrastination and umming and ahhing I decided on the weekend to get rid of the huge double bed invading my craft space and devote the room wholeheartedly to all things crafty (save the spacesaver put up bed I will get for the room soon.)
This revelation also meant that I finally shifted 3 large ikea bags of clothing/shoes and bags to the charity shop!!! Hurrah!!! such a warm and fuzzy feeling (also slightly smug knowing that I could then move the bed to the garage in pieces (pre sale) and get my lovely desk into the room!!!)
There is still some tidying/decluttering to do and some lovely black and white photos of Venice to go up on the wall but here it is at the half way phase! What do you all think???
An update on the plastic bag amnesty!! Hooray Success!! the reminder cards and the regular restocking of the car and handbag have almost brought the number of bags entering the house since I started to nil!! the same is true of the classroom and one or two of the kids are actually remembering themselves before our class supply shopping (NB they have SEN)
Here are the photos of my little reminders which have helped soooo much on the back of the front door and on the Dash of my car!
This month I am going to try making a swiffer cosy for use over the kitchen floor (pattern for a cosy) there are also more on ravelry for those that are on there. This is in line with my knitting through my stash and also reusableI am also making an effort to use my composter for all things compostable by having a small lidded bin indoors to avoid the traipse to the end of the garden in the rain or the dark so I can go regularly to the big composter with veg peelings, tea bags, cardboard from the loo rolls coffee grinds etc etc…..
This month I have signed up to Hip Mountain Mama’s Challenge which will run till this years Earth Day on April 22nd. I have decided to blitz the use of Carrier bags AGAIN with whats remaining of this month’s challenge and have made myself signs for the front door and the car (tiny little reminders laminated and stuck up with double sided tape) to jog the memory cells into movement!!
I have plenty of carriers in the house to reuse and recycle and plenty of cloth bags etc so no excuses the signs are up, the bags have been decanted to the car and one into the handbag!!
I have also decided to take this challenge into school with me as each time the kids do snack shopping they end up spending some class funds on another bag so we’ve worked out that over 10 weeks we will have saved enough for each child to have a small bar of chocolate/sweet/fruit of their choice by taking our own carriers to do the shopping….
mmmm…. Liking the reward system in school may have to instigate one at home!! lol
Well after another snow day off school (the photos were my garden this morning note the bird table dusted beautifully in snow – I also would like to note some starlings have found their way onto the table within 24 hours of it being placed in situ) I have decided to update my craftiness on my blog to share with the world what I am up to!
Currently on the needles I have….. pause for deep breath….. a jumper, a shetland cardie, socks (one completed!! – thinking about the 2nd) a shawl for myself in lovely Cashmere bought for me by Machelle, and a couple of hats which are sort of fluttering about on stitch minders!! he he should get cracking on completing something then!!
I also realised that I had not blogged my wrist warmers and their frilly warmness (made with some yummy Patons smoothie and Sirdar Click for the frill. I also finally finished my cowl scarf made from the sari yarn bought at Wonderwool last year!!!
To make the Wrist warmers, cast on 50 st using DK wool and 4mm needles.
Row 1: Knit 2 purl 2 to end
knit in 2 2 rib for 5 more rows
Row 7: rib for 10 st, cast off 5 st, rib to end
Row 8: rib for 35 st, cast on 5 st, rib to end.
Continue until rib measures 25cm and cast off loosely in rib (you can also use an elastic cast off here.
For the frill:
Pick up and knit into the knit stitches on the wrong side about 4 rows down using 3.25mm needle you should be picking up each side of both V’s only on the knit stitches, (50 sts) Starting with a K row stocking stitch 8 rows.
Next row: knit into the front and back of each stitch (or every other for a lesser frill)
Next row: Purl
cast off.
To make up sew up the long edges of the ribbed glove and the edges of the frill in the corresponding colours!
I have had a few days off school recently due to the snow and thought that I would spend this time doing things I wanted to do not had to do as a treat as they were unexpected days off!
I have also finished painting and putting up the bird table in the garden!! and done things like collecting the evil car from the garage 120 miles away near where the stupid wheel fell off!! But most importantly I have made Cakes and pizza and knitted profusely.
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- Flapjacks
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- Homemade pizzas
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- Raspberry and Chocolate chip cake
Flapjacks:
Ingredients:
75g butter
50g light soft brown sugar
30ml or 3 tbsp golden syrup
a dash of maple syrup
175g rolled oats
Method:
Preheat oven to 180C or gas mark 4
Grease and flour a cake tin either circular or square!! Melt the butter and the sugar and syrup in a pan over a low heat. Add the rolled oats to the mixture and mix well. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and press down well. Bake for about 20 mins until golden brown. Allow the flapjack to cool before turning out and cutting. (Flapjacks cut FAR better the colder they are if you can wait!!)
Raspberry and Chocolate chip cake:
Ingredients:
175g butter
175g golden caster sugar
175g self-raising flour
2 eggs
vanilla essence
A couple of handfuls of FROZEN raspberries (it is important the raspberries are frozen or they smoosh everywhere!!)
100ml milk
a small bag of white chocolate chips or chunks.
Method: Preheat the oven to 190C or Gas mark 5
cream the butter and the sugar in the food mixer until it is almost white, add the eggs, milk and vanilla essence into the mixer and mix again until smooth. Transfer the mix into a bowl and sift the flour into the mixture folding in the flour carefully. Add the white chocolate chunks/chips and stir through.
transfer into a greased and lined cake tin or into a muffin tin lined with cases. For the muffins bake for about 20 mins and for the cake a bit longer until the cake(s) are golden brown and spring back to the touch in the centre!! serve with buttercream icing (icing sugar and butter mixed in food processor!) YUM!!
It’s easy said Machelle Ok says silly me I have some lovely laceweight silk yarn I bought at Fibrefest I could use lets have a go. Very quickly (almost too quickly) I decided this would be my mother Christmas Present…..
I frogged three times at the budding lace repeat stage andspent two weeks staring at the shawl and the shawl staring back at me neither of us willing to go too close to one another!!! Then I perfected the technique. This meant that the daylight bulb being switched, intially no TV or other distractions and a written sheet that I could cross out as I went!
Finally I had a burst of energy and and few panics as I did not think this would get finished for Christmas! However I completed and blocked it at 1am Christmas Eve’s Eve!!! eek!!
I have now cast on another in some beautiful laceweight cashmere wool from Ally Pally (thanks to Machelle again) for ME!!
With the snow meaning days off school (3.5 to be precise!) I have had a chance to complete a pair of socks for himself!
I am particularly pleased as whilst this in not the first sock I have knitted but the first pair of socks! I have overcome the second sockitis!! Hurrah!!
I have also cast on a pair for myself!
