Tea Time.

I have always loved our British idea of afternoon tea.Its something I grew up with & was made very much a family affair.

In my own family it was more of a Sunday afternoon thing.We always got together at my Nana's house for Sundays.I mean the whole family!

In my sister in laws family ,it was a daily ritual which started just before milking time.I think it really gave the men who were the ones that did the lions share of the hard manual work a chance to get inside in the warm & re-charge the batteries.All the women who were involved in laying on these spreads were great bakers & home makers.

At knit & natter the other night ,it could well have been classed as a tea party.Rosie brought her delicious apple cake & one of the other girls brought some gorgeous blueberry muffins.Shhhhh,don't tell anyone,I had 4 bits of cake!!!I enjoyed every mouthful....How naughty am I ?!!

I was asked to make a tea cosy for someone.It was a specific order & she had already chosen the type of yarn & design of the tea cosy.Only problem was that there was no pattern & I had to make one up!Even more so ,it was in moss stitch ,which presents a problem with the decreasing of the stitches.

I was so glad that when Debbie Bliss visited The Wool Bar recently ,I had asked her about decreasing in moss stitch.It all came back to me that it is necessary to knit 3 stitches together to get the decrease in pattern. Phew!!!

After a few design issues , frogging & 5 hours,this was the result.

Its knitted in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino.

I loved it so much ,I have made myself one.Wow ,it really does keep that Twinings hot!

This one was just knitted using some acrylic that was in my stash & is now all used up.They both have a ribbon trim at the top which is sewn on.

I am thinking of writing the pattern up for Ravelry.

Berrylicious!!!

Last night I decided I was bored with TV & made some cakes.I decided to use Ruth's recipe over on The Pink Whisk for her Blackberry Ginger & Mint cakes.

They turned out really well & tasted even better!!My team at work were happy this morning as I took the cakes in for them.Extra brownie points for me.Our new boss loved his!!!I know how to please them...

I sprayed lustre spray on them which made them very pretty.

On the berry theme,I am working on another pair of mittens in the Artesano Inca Cloud again.I have chosen a more prominent contrast colour this time.

See how the inside forms quite neatly.No twisting there!!

Top down Babies!!

I waited for ages to get the pattern for these little tops.They are knitted from the top down on circular needles increasing at 4 points.I made the pink one in self striping sock yarn by Rico.Its wool & nylon & washes up quite soft.

The orange & green one was knitted in Rico DK which is a microfibre yarn.This is really soft.It also proved that you can use any type of yarn but just adjusts the measurements slightly.I was really pleased with the way they came out.

The boy one is for my friends baby ,Charlie ,who will be one in November.I am going to make his first birthday cake as a present so I am thinking up ideas for it.Really not sure at the moment what I will do yet.Will keep you posted.

I made these scones yesterday using this recipe & Ruth from The Pink Whisk's idea of a sugar glaze top.I was unsure of using the bread flour & added some extra raising agent using Creme of Tartar as Ed on GBBBO thought scones were better with it.They were good but I have to say I have never tasted any scones as good as the ones my ma in law used to make.They were the best!!!Nothing will ever compare with them.