Blogger issues

I have been having problems with my blog loading.I have had reports from you lovely readers that you have either not been able to get on to the blog or it has been so slow that you have given up.
Due to this I have deleted off many posts.You can see that gone now are 2008 & 2009 posts.
I have also deleted any links that are not needed.I know they looked pretty but I think they were slowing things down.
This is my last attempt.

Please let me know if its loading OK now.
If not ,I will have to start a new blog.

June post

We are now half way through June.

As usual it rained in the first week.How do I know it does this every year?My birthday is on the 6th & very few are nice dry sunny days.

Yes I have now hit 45.How old I feel.I am now older than my mother was when we got married.Thats a scary thought!!

I have made a pact with myself though that I shall continue to grow old disgracefully & have fun doing so!!

I knitted my lovely man a jumper.He did deserve it.Its his first in 25 years.Doesnt it look great on him.

Stir it up!

As you may have realised by now,I love to bake.I am happy to cook meals ,but as hubby tends to take over those ,my forte is baking!I have made some delicious cakes in the past which have been sampled by friends ,family & work colleagues.

Last week I made this sumptuous tower of orange cakes.It was a new recipe & I will definately be using it again.Here is the link to the site where I got the recipe.

You cant see it clearly in the picture ,but the orange frosting had edible glitter sprinkled on it & looked so pretty.In my blogging I found out what I have been doing wrong with my wooden spoons!They are all dried up & rough.I keep sanding them but they soon breakdown.Because I like them to be super clean ,I tend to put them in the dishwasher.I have found out they need regular feeding with a spoon oil to keep them in great condition.I am sending off for some beeswax asap to make some.Click on the link to find the recipe which came via one of my favourite blogs.Once I have got this made up,I will be giving all my favourite spoons & wooden bowls a loving session,especially my porridge spoon!

Springtime update!!Eeek its nearly summer!!

I have shamefully neglected my blog again!!
Life has kinda taken over.Work is now full time again & busy busy!!

I have also been busy knitting furiously.I had a commission for a fashion designer to make some vests .This had a deadline of only a few weeks.They were very big to make using the most horrible Godefra yarn.I never want to see that stuff gain!.

My son moved to Austria to live with his girlfriend.The house seems so much quieter now & less washing to do!!I do miss him though.We had the Royal Wedding with street parties a plenty!!We were invited to two!We attended the best one though in town with The Wool Bar. Caroline had organised a knitathon & a group of ladies & gents sat & knitted gloves for the homeless & put together knitted squares to make blankets.

I took my spinning wheel & produced a whole spindle of yarn.Apart from one silly drunk ,the day was really good & one we shall all remember.

On the Royal Wedding subject ,in Brighton whilst shopping with my family last week I spied this chocolate cake.Its Kate & William....looks where the cheeky boys hand is!!

I have also been decorating my bedroom.It took me ages & I did it all on my own,with a bad back & working all week full time with no help!It nearly killed me!!

I made`some knitted bunting from Louisa Harding's book for Aimee yarn.Its so pretty.This is the second lot of bunting I have made using the pattern.Its a really easy pattern with just a border of moss stitch & an eyelet hole row for the ribbon to be threaded through.I used a lovely paisley ribbon to thread them all up.I love it & the message on it.When I have completely finished my bedroom I shall take some pictures of it.I still have the blinds to make yet!

This is my very first Sock Workshop which was held at The Wool Bar on the 22nd May.It was great & everyone worked really hard & had a sock at the end of the day.Ok it was a mini sock but never the less it was a perfect sock!!

Well done ladies ,you were great!

New handbag..s

Its been a while since I last posted & so much has happened.

I spent most of the last month in the depths of dispair.I really didnt know what was going to happen to me with regards to my back.I now have had results from the MRI scan & although I am still in pain with it ,the results show no prolapsed disc.Wowee..that means I should be able to get back to some sort of normality after I have had a session with the pain clinic & no operation.If I was living in America ,I have found out they would possibly go on to do a discogram ,but as I live in the UK & at the mercy of the NHS.They will not do any more investigations & I have to get on with it!!Surely I wont have to keep rattling with tablets for ever?Well lets hope not.

Now on the the title in hand...A girl can never have too many can they?Absolutely not is the answer always given to a male asking the question!!ha ha!!!

Well I think I mentioned in my last post I was going to make a new bag in cotton.Well its finished & in great use.Here are the pictures.

I am quite pleased with it & it has been much admired.The only thing is it only is available in crochet form at the moment.I have promised my friend to sort a pattern in knit form for her.This means I first have to knit a bag in the same shape!!I am so busy with knitting at the moment.I darent say how many projects I am making .In fact I dont think even I know the answer at the moment!!

I have also been asked to do some work shops which means that I must sort out a lesson plans for each of them.I do like teaching though & have been doing a few beginners knitters courses.You really feel like you have achieved something when you teach someone to make something.

I also forgot to post about some of the things I made as presents at Christmas.

One was some fingerless mittens made from some gorgious Manos yarn.Its so warm.They are for my MIL .I also made a shrug out of this ran for myself.Its very cosy & keeps me snug.

These mittens were for my FIL.They are the pattern I listed on a previous post.Its been quite popular as its knitted flat & then sewn up down the side of the glove.

The Rico yarn in Merino is lovely.I just washed my hubby's mitts in the machine this morning & they have come up a treat.I forgot they were in there & put them on a 40degree wash.They were fine & have not felted.

January Sales at Cath Kidston

I have been absent ,sick as sick can be, the dreaded flu caught up with me & my back is really getting me down.

To cheer myself up I visited the Cath Kidston website who have some fantastic deals on in their sale.I have treated myself to this.....

This.....and these.....They are to set my new bag off which I am planning to make very soon.This is the bag.Isn't it just lovely?I cant wait to make it.I have some very pretty rose print fabric to line it which will finish it nicely.

Seeing out the old year......

This will be the last blog post of the year.

In some ways its not been a good year & I cant wait for the new one to start.Maybe with it will bring an answer to my back injury .

The Christmas period was a bit of a washout in some ways.I was ill throughout & have had about 3 weeks of some sort of flu virus.It absolutely floored me on Christmas day & left me in bed.Mr T to the rescue,he was going to cook anyway,but he ended up doing all of it.Bless him ,he is such a great man.Shame family were cancelled at the last moment & lucky for them they had food in their own cupboards.

Having been crook ,I didn't get to post any of the projects I completed.I will share these in the New Year .I have crafted my fingers off & knitted & knitted!

For now you will have to be happy with a picture of the loveliest Christmas cake in the world!(or at least mine!!)Its from Ruth over on The Pink Whisk & is a recipe she got from the Bourke Street Bakery cook book.Santa reckoned I was a good girl & I now have a copy of this in my collection.I cant wait to bake something else from it.

Have a great New Years Eve.We have a dear friend coming over to stay the night.We are childless this year as they are doing their own thing.

Have a lovely one & I leave you with a picture of my cake...Mmmmm

Door Wreath

I love having a new door wreath.

I had a lovely one last year but this year somehow it just wasnt going to cut the mustard!

I wanted to have a Pom Pom wreath!!

Any excuse to use my new Pom Pom malers from Clover....they are so good!

I bought a wicker wreath base form our local craft shop in Warwick Street in Worthing then applied using my trusty hot glue gun nearly a whole box of baubles from Wilkinsons & some lovely fluffy pom poms.

I just love it!

Christmas Treats!! Nom Nom...

I had a spare couple of hours this afternoon so I donned my pinny & turned into "Domestic Goddess", (said like the narrator on X Factor when he says "Olly Murs!!")
This what I whipped up for tonight’s Knit & Natter.

Just the usual Victoria sponge cake in muffin tins ,some Royal Icing & fondant icing Christmas trees & some edible glitter sprinkled on top.I used some Royal Icing from Tate & Lyle.I have never seen it before but it is icing sugar mixed with dried egg white.You just mix it with a drop of water until the right consistency.I also added a little glycerin to stop the icing from breaking any teeth.Very easy to use.

Mens Fingerless gloves

The weather has been very cold so I have made lots of these.
Here is the pattern for you to try.





Men’s Fingerless gloves

Materials

1 ½ 50g skeins of Aran weight yarn.
4mm needles
3 ¼mm needles. For ribbing
Sewing up wool needle.

These gloves are made knitted flat in one piece with a side seam.
Abbreviations
Sts stitches
Rs right side
Dec decrease
St st stocking stitch, knit 1 row, purl 1 row.
M1 make one stitch, by picking up loop between stitches & knitting into the back of loop to make a stitch.
Garter stitch knit every row.

Method for right glove

Using 3 ¼ mm needles .cast on 46 sts. Start by making a k2, p2 rib for 3 inches finishing with the rs.
Next row (dec) (p2, k2, p2tog, k2) twice(p2 ,k2)twice, p2, k2, p2 (k2, p2tog, k2, p2)twice (42 sts)
Next row (Rs facing)
Change to 4mm needles.
Stocking stitch for 8 rows (or you can form pattern of 6 rows st st , 2 rows reversed st st).Finish ending with a wrong side wrong leaving the right side facing for next row.

Shape thumb **
K22 sts, m1, k3, m1, k17 sts (44sts)
Work 3 rows in pattern
Row 5 (rs) K22, m1, k5, m1, k17 (46sts)
Continue in pattern for 3 rows, increasing as above every next & following 4th row until 52 sts are on the needle.
Work 1 row ending with rs facing for next row. **

Divide for thumb
K22, slip the next 13 sts on a holder (I use a piece of yarn in a different colour), knit next 17 sts .
Continue to knit for another 17 rows across 39 sts or as long as required to fit hand. Knit 3 rows in garter stitch, cast off knit wise.

Knit thumb

With stitches that are on the piece of yarn facing you with the right side, starting from the right end of the stitches slip them back on to a 4mm needle. Holding this needle in the left hand, rejoin the yarn at the base of the stitch at the end of the needle point, ready to start knitting again.
Next row
Purl into back & front of stitch, purl to last stitch, purl into back & front of stitch. (15sts)
Stocking stitch 7 rows.


Next row Change to 3 ¼ mm needles,
Knit 2 rows cast off knit wise. Try to cast off not too tightly. If you have a problem with this, try using a larger sized needle to cast off.

Making up

Using matching yarn & wool sewing up needle, stitch up the side seam of the main glove from the ribbing to end using either ladder stitch or over sew.
Stitch up seam of thumb using the same method.
Left glove.
Reverse shaping at **to** for thumb.This means instead of starting with K 22 ,you will start with K17.

I hope you enjoy making them.Let me know how you get on with the pattern & if I need to amend anything. You can message me easily via Ravelry , user name is Lilibet21. I am not a knitwear designer so my pattern writing skills are minimal.


If you live in the UK you will no doubt had lots of snow.Grouse & Maisie were not that keen on getting cold & wet ,but for Peggy it was a different matter!!Never mind being an oldie.It brought out her inner pup!!