KNIT AND MAKE

Candle transfers

2012-03-01T05:42:00.000-08:00

When I was out shopping yesterday I picked up a pack of candle transfers that were reduced to 50 pence. (I love reduced things).

They were really easy to use, just cut out the part you want to use and soak it for twenty seconds. Then gently peel it off the backing paper and place it where you would like it on the candle

Very easy and something I will try again especially if I find more of them reduced.

Moody Monday cupboard cleaning.

2012-02-20T10:41:00.000-08:00

I opened my daughters toy cupboard today and was greeted by this

Never in my life have I seen such a complete and utter mess. It was one of those moments when I wished I had kim and aggie from how clean is your house to come and help.

There were bits of Lego everywhere random doll parts and lots of pieces of polly pocket etc.

Five hours ( yes that's right five hours for one bl@@dy cupboard) five black bags and it was finally tidy. I forgot to take an after picture and the kids have been alone upstairs for an hour, I'm too scared to look in it in case it looks the same again.

Slightly sleepy Sunday

2012-02-19T09:03:00.000-08:00

After a busy morning doing Zumba express then Zumba toning I've had a very lazy afternoon. A while back I had downloaded a free copy of mollie makes on the newsstand of my iPad. I enjoyed reading it so much so yesterday I bought the valentines issue because I had fell in love with the crochet hand warmers on the cover.

http://molliemakes.themakingspot.com/magazine

I hopefully will get round to making the hand warmers but at the moment I am busy making granny squares for a lovely throw that is in this issue.

For a limited time there is one free issue on the newsstand of cross stitch collection, cross stitcher, crochet today, mollie makes, the knitter, knitting life, simply knitting and papercraft inspirations and probably more but these are the ones I know of.

The girls were busy today with the last baking packet mix.

Tesco brownie mix

Didn't have a square tin so had to make it in a round one. Ended up crumbly but very tasty and the kids scoffed quite a lot of it.

Love is in the air

2012-02-14T06:07:00.000-08:00

Toast I made for the girls this morning for their breakfast.

I like to move things

2012-02-13T07:09:00.000-08:00

I really like to move things and it drives my husband crazy. When I feel the need for a change I move some things from one room to another.

My husband found me a large stone in the shape of a heart a few years back (I love heart shaped stones) it has been in living room and beside front door. In both these places it was standing up and I was terrified it would fall on someone's toes, especially one of the girls or a visiting child.

Today I decided it was going flat and I have put it in our bedroom.

It doesn't look as if the door will close but it does.

Next I had to move the vase of flowers that sat in the place the stone is now taking up.

I recently moved one of the flowers from bedroom into our bathroom

I have also stacked up hamper and hat box so I have room for both.

Wonder what I can move next!!

Lil red heart

2012-02-12T04:30:00.000-08:00

Lil red heart

Worked in stocking stitch 2 strands of dk yarn on 4mm needles, 4mm cable needle needed as Well.

Cast on 2 stitches

Starting with knit work 1 row

Increase 1stitch each end of next row and every row until there are 12 stitches

Knit 3, put next 3 stitches onto cable needle and hold at back of work, knit next three then 3 on cable needle, knit 3

Purl 1 row

Increase each end of next 6 rows

Work 9 cable 6 as above work 9

Work 6 rows

P 2tog work last 2 stitches p2tog

Knit 8 cable 8 knit 8
purl 11 turn and work on these 11 stitches only

* k2 tog knit to end
P until last 2 p2 tog
Work two rows
K until last 2 stitches knit 2tog
P2tog purl last 2 stitches p2 tog
Work 1 row
P2tog purl last 2 p2 tog
K2tog. K2tog
Cast of last 2 stitches

Rejoin yarn to other side work one row before following the shaping but reversing that comes after *

Sew together leaving a small gap down one side to fill with toy stuffing then sew gap up.

Make a cord to make a hanging loop and two small pompoms made by the fork method.

Whoopie pies

2012-02-11T06:35:00.000-08:00

My two girls love baking and they really hate it when I get involved. I love making my own things but sometimes a packet mix comes in really handy. Today was one of those times. I had picked up several packet mixes from the supermarket last time I was in. I thought it would keep the two monkeys busy because they have a week off school Thursday until Thursday.

They wanted to make the Whoopie pie one, I had seen a lot of pictures of Whoopie pies on the Internet but never made them before, I had even seen a machine that makes Whoopie pies but that seems a lot of expense for something that can be made quite easily.

Finished Whoopie pies.

Whoopie pies being made

They were very tasty and I think I will go browsing this afternoon for Whoopie pie recipes.

knit and make newspaper

2012-02-08T09:43:00.000-08:00

I was bored this afternoon so knit and make now has its very own newspaper with free patterns and news from the crafting world

knit and make newspaper

Love reading new blogs.

2012-02-08T04:08:00.000-08:00

Just found the link for this lovely blog which is having a giveaway on another blog I follow

Here is some of the things in the giveaway

And the link for the blog and giveaway is here.

http://trocbroc.blogspot.com/

I will enjoy reading it later unfortunately I have to go Hoover and iron :(.

Sweatshirt liposuction update

2012-02-07T13:33:00.000-08:00

Still attempting to turn a sweatshirt into a cardigan but the amount of Zumba and other stuff I have been packing into my day is leaving me with litte time.

Recovering buttons that I may possibly use.

Wedding woes

2012-02-07T12:34:00.000-08:00

I have a wedding later this summer and I'm on a mission to lose weight and tone up, I want to look pretty in my dress.

Since the end of last week I have been bouncing on my rebounder and zumbaing on the Xbox kinect like a crazy woman.

I really wanted to try the Zumba DVDs and thought now was the time to buy them because they were reduced to £29.99 on amazon.

Been having great fun.

This is what you get in the box.

Hopefully all my bouncing about like crazy will pay off.

Last day Thursday

2012-02-02T05:01:00.000-08:00

Today is the oh's last day at home for 1/4 of a year :(. Normally he goes away for 2 months but this time it's 3 because we have a wedding and oh wanted to be home for some of the girls summer holidays.

Because he wont be here I got my valentines present early. I have a real candles and candle holder obsession.

Today I have been making use of oh and getting him to do some jobs before he goes off on his travels. One of the things I wanted him to do was hang a necklace holder on the wall for me.

A while back I had painted several picture frames to hang up in our bedroom and when I bought the necklace holder I really didn't have an idea where I was going to put it, looking at the picture frames today I thought it would look ok under them.

Wall before necklace hanger

Wall after

I also hung up the cute little birds that I won on a giveaway.

I love my gold sewing machine it's one of my favourite charity shop finds.

Stray sock sewing Tuesday

2012-01-31T07:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday (I think it was yesterday I get so confused with days when my oh is home) I said I was going to make another sock monkey, then I remembered I had a stray sock sewing book with lots of different animals that I hadn't tried yet.

To get the stray sock book from amazon click below. (opens in this page)

Stray sock sewing

Introducing Zahara the zebra

I'm sure she would have looked a lot better if I had bought some black and white stripy socks but I am trying to use up what I have this year instead of buying lots of new things.

Hoping the girls like her when they come back from school

Sock monkey Monday.

2012-01-30T05:49:00.000-08:00

I recently won a giveaway at Countryheartandhome Which was such a lovely surprise because normally I have no luck (I once won pregnancy vitamins after I came home from hospital with my baby), So winning something so lovely was such a great surprise.

Huge thank you to Debbie @ http://countryheartandhome.blogspot.com/ for having her giveaway and for the lovely items xxx

We were out when the postman came which for us is typical, we can wait in all day and as soon as we leave the house for 5 minutes someone tries to deliver something.

We went to pick up our parcels from the sorting office and oh went oh what's this and started trying to open it. I had a good idea what it was and started shouting at him to leave it for me to open lol

Here it is and it is lovely

I will be having a good look at the book this afternoon and using the sewing kit to make a sock monkey.

But in the meantime and a little bit like blue Peter here's one I made earlier.

Söndag natt is Swedish night.

2012-01-29T09:03:00.000-08:00

So far this month we have had Chinese new year food, burns supper and today I really wanted some meatballs so we decided it would be Swedish night. Luckily we had a jar of lingonberry jam that we bought from ikea last time we were there, no shops sell it here :(.

(I wonder if the rest of the jar would freeze until next time I make meatballs)

I made the meatball sauce from the ikea recipe. http://www.ikea-friends.com/corner/recipe-meatball.shtml

Oh joked that we will be building flat pack furniture later, at least I hope it was a joke.

I love meatballs almost as much as my other favourite Swedish thing

Home made sunday.

2012-01-29T06:25:00.000-08:00

Slightly hungover morning but decided to make some cookies and use my homemade cookie stamp which we bought from Lakeland a while back.

When we used it a few days ago oh neatly cut round edge.

Today I couldn't be bothered with that so they are looking a little more rustic, but still really tasty.

Off to enjoy some with a cup of tea.

Sparkly Saturday

2012-01-28T14:10:00.000-08:00

Had a busy day, first we took the girls to get their hair cut. My eldest had some layers in to make her thick hair a bit more manageable and the youngest a trim so she could see. The hairdresser told the eldest her hair was lovely and never cut it short or dye it. Heres hoping she isn't like her mum and actually listens to the never dye you hair part.

Then it was off to buy some earrings and my youngest decided she wanted her ears pierced there and then(she was going to be getting it for her birthday but her dad won't be here and I didn't want to see her getting it done, such a wimp) she was very brave and proud of her sparkly studs.

Then it was off for passport photos, we don't know when we will be going abroad but we know we want to but never got round to getting passports for the girls.

After that I had to come home and give the bathroom another coat of paint.

Bathroom before

Bathroom after

The change in colour isn't too different but it's looking a lot better with a few bits that needed plastering.

Sweatshirt liposuction and flower icing

2012-01-27T13:36:00.000-08:00

Why is it whenever you are trying to find something in a charity shop you never see it.

I am currently hunting a men's extra large hoodie to make into a hoodie cardigan

Hoodie cardigan link

http://seekatesew.blogspot.com/2011/10/sweatshirt-liposuction.html

I don't want to buy a new one in case I muck it up.

I did however find a flower icing set from the charity shop my mother in law works in.

Can't wait to try it out on a giant cupcake!!

Lights camera and not a lot of action!!

2012-01-27T09:24:00.000-08:00

I have always hated our living room light

Our living room light

so I was delighted when my husband said we could get a new one. That's when the problems began, now my husband isn't the kind of man that just tells me to pick whatever I want, on no he dares to have an opinion (how dare he).

When we got to b and q much debating went on as to which light to get. Eventually we settled for

But I really wanted the 5 bulb one which oh said would hang way too low on our ceiling.

And alas I can only dream of having a room with a high enough ceiling for a 7 bulb one

After we agreed on a light there was the problem of finding bulbs. The ones in store had lovely bulbs in them that were nowhere to be seen. We eventually settled on energy saving ones that aren't as pretty but do the job.

We also changed lights in the kitchen because they weren't bright enough

From this

To this

And best yet they only cost about £5.

Burns night supper

2012-01-25T11:01:00.001-08:00

Just enjoyed a lovely burns night supper of haggis, neeps,tatties and mince.!!

It has been a week of eating way too much, we had Chinese food for Chinese new year and it was lovely. I found some fairy lights that we got from a friend and we made some paper lanterns which we hung from the ceiling airer ( which we actually bought to hang pans from but that lasted less than a week before we discovered clothes dry brilliantly on it).

Tomorrow we will be having soup to try and make up for all the extra calories we have scoffed so far this week.

Some extra bouncing on the rebounder may be done as well.

Learning Wednesday

2012-01-25T10:43:00.001-08:00

Today I have been learning about volcanoes with the help of iTunes u and the free courses it has. I love that it is free and there are lots of different things to learn. It will hopefully keep me busy for a long time.

At the moment I am also learning Swedish with the help of http://www.babbel.com/ , the goswedish app for iPod/iPad and the go Swedish you tube channel. I hope that one day I can watch a Swedish film with no subtitles.

Zipper flower

2012-01-24T08:56:00.001-08:00

I had my first attempt at making a flower with a zip today. I first discovered them on pinterest and as I have a huge basket full of zips thought I would give it a go. Next time I might try making one with different colours and a few petals.

Mary Berry giant spiced Christmas cupcake

2012-01-16T07:44:00.000-08:00

Today I made myself a giant cupcake using two packs of Mary Berrys spiced Christmas cupcakes mix. ( I bought a few packs when they were reduced to 50p in Tesco)

I didn't use the brandy that came for adding to icing but made a pink vanilla icing to cover it and edible silver balls for decoration.

Its a huge improvement from last one I made First attempt at a giant cupcake

Mary Berrys spiced Christmas cupcakes recipe can be found here

I'm hoping to make my girls giant cupcakes for their birthday cakes this year.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T12:58:00.000-08:00

My first Christmas cake is all decorated and we have been sitting eating crackers, cheese and the sweet chilli jam I made in November.

Hoping Santa will make an appearance later

Merry Christmas

snowman poop

2011-12-20T15:09:00.000-08:00

Normally by this time of year I have made lots of different Christmas things, this year I've not been feeling well and really can't be bothered, but today I quickly made some bags of snowman poop.

Tags are from this website here

http://area512.htmlplanet.com/xmas/snowmanpoop.html

The bags I used were small because I couldnt find my larger ones and ended up using cake pop bags. For the snowman poop I used Cadburys snow bites. 1 bag for each bag of poop. I really should have made the tags smaller because I ended up with huge tags and small bags lol

I really will have to put a bit more effort in next time.

Sweet chilli Jam

2011-12-16T06:59:00.000-08:00

My sweet chilli jam that I made at the end of November now has a jam lid cover and tag and is ready to be wrapped and delivered.

the recipe for this jam is from the link below

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/8257/sweet-chilli-jam

looking forward to eating the jar of jam I am keeping with cheese and crackers.

Christmas craft swap

2011-12-13T12:53:00.000-08:00

I recently took part in a Christmas swap. This is only the third time I have ever taken part in a swap and I always get panicky that people are going to think what rubbish is that she has made.

The item I made was a bunting garland type thing. I made one for myself as a bit of a test to see if it looked ok.

Here it is on my mirror in our living room

It is made from crochet stars and red felt hearts.

Apologies for the next photos which turned out blurry. I really should drag camera out of cupboard instead of using ipod. (maybe that could be my new years resolution)

This is the gorgeous item I received!!

It is currently on the back of my chair because the colours look lovely in my living room but I will be moving it to our table in kitchen on christmas day and at new year.

first attempt at decoupage stars

2011-12-12T13:30:00.000-08:00

Today I had my first attempt at decoupage stars. I saw them at http://www.makeitandmendit.com/2011/12/11/how-to-make-christmas-decorations-from-old-cereal-packets-and-junk-mail/ and thought it looked easy and something nice I could make later this weekend with the girls.

I used an old magazine for the decoupage (a Christmas one so there were lots of red and green), cardboard from a box of cereal for cutting out the star shape and matt mod podge glue.

I still need to attach a ribbon or piece of string to it to hang it so in the meantime its just sitting in the tree

It looks a bit like there is a santa face at the right side of the star, there isn't lol

Hurricane Bawbag

2011-12-09T03:54:00.000-08:00

Hurricane Bawbag struck us last night. The noise the wind was making was very scary. When I put on my outside light and looked out I could see my shed doors had been ripped off and it was just a matter of time before the fence went as well. I ended up sleeping on the sofa (not that I got much sleep). The noise and the wind blowing through my closed bedroom window was too much to take. Thankfully the kids slept all the way through it!!

While I was looking out the trampoline started moving off the patch it sits on. If only it had moved earlier it could have held shed doors in place lol

Diy Christmas tree chocolates

2011-12-01T13:21:00.001-08:00

I saw these gorgeous little chocolate teddies in tesco. Attached a metallic string to the back of them and now I have lovely little teddies to hang from the tree.

monday night knitting

2011-11-28T12:26:00.000-08:00

In the process of knitting handwarmers with leftover aran I had from making my hat.

The pattern is from here and better still it is free

http://blueskyalpacas.com/patterns/one-cable-mitts-free-pattern/

praying I have enough wool for this because I want to make them for a present.

Tis the season to get ..... ill!!!

2011-11-28T05:46:00.000-08:00

Had a few weeks of me and the kids feeling ill. Every time one of us got better another seemed to get ill again.

On the craft front I have been busy making hats.

The teal one comes from a book called celebrity slouchy beanies and the white one was made with free wool and a pattern from lets knit magazine.

How the teal one looks on

This morning I have been making sweet chilli jam

I use this recipe http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/8257/sweet-chilli-jam its really easy to make and tastes lovely with all kinds of cold meat or crackers and cheese.

I will be eating mine over the Christmas and New Year holiday.

One jar will be for us and I am thinking of giving the other jar to one of our family members. I get really nervous at the thought of that in case I manage to make someone ill lol

candles obsession

2011-11-12T05:41:00.000-08:00

I have a slight obsession with candles but some of them are so expensive. On Thursday we went to lidls and they have some gorgeous candles at not totally out of it prices. (loving the red stars hoping they still have some left next time I am in)

gorgeous tealights

< angel candles in this corner

So pretty it was very hard to chose. I ended up getting two packs of tea lights but they both look too nice to burn.

Im getting into the Christmas spirit and cant wait until dec to start decorating.

Christmas lights and Christmas crafts

2011-11-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

A few days ago we had a visit to a garden centre which was all done up for Christmas (it seems to come earlier every year!!)

They have an area filled with all kinds of lovely lights and light displays which you enter through a lit up tunnel.

I especially loved the Toadstool lights

and the shabby chic style lantern

the polar bear and penguin display looked lovely and my mum couldnt help herself and went and bought a little penguin.

first time I have seen a donkey wearing wellie boots

while I was there I couldnt help but pick up a few bits and pieces for Christmas

A few days ago I bought a bundle of felt and some other bits and bobs from the felt fairy

http://thefeltfairyuk.blogspot.com/

I have been busy making a few different bits and pieces

Soup, sparklers and sausage rolls

2011-10-31T07:56:00.000-07:00

We went up to my mums house yesterday for a Halloween/bonfire night celebration because my husband is away in a few days and will miss bonfire night.

We had a very yummy meal of soup and not just any sausage roll its a m&s sausage roll which we ate in her summer house. My step dad had a heater and a hob to keep soup warm, and Christmas tree lights for lighting so it was all very cosy.

summer house being built

unfortunately our picture of the summer house lit up didn't come out too good. Might have been because camera was on firework setting.

The fireworks pictures however came out really good even with me taking the pictures.

and everyone even the grown ups had fun with the sparklers

when we came home we carved our pumpkins

vampire pumpkin

jack the pumpkin king

and this poor little guy ate too much sweets at the party!

vomiting pumpkin

when all of this is over we really need to dust

Tiny Christmas stockings

2011-10-27T06:58:00.000-07:00

Dk yarn
4mm double pointed needles
small buttons
coloured thread
Stockings measure approx 3 1/4 inches from top of stocking to tip of toe.

cast on 16 stitches over 3 needles you should have stitches placed like this 5.6.5
knit every round until piece measures 1 1/2 inches
knit 4 stitches turn and purl these 4 stitches and a further 4 stitches, you will now work on these 8 stitches to make a heel flap. ( pop remaining stitches on to other needle).

Heel flap

stocking stitch 4 rows

k1, slip 1 k1 psso, knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1
p1, p2tog, p2tog, p1
knit 2 with new needle knit the other 2 and pick up 2 stitches down side, new needle knit across middle needle, new needle pick up 2 stitches up side and knit first two stitches of this round.

on the three needles you should have 4.8.4

knit 1 round

knit 3 put last stitch on to middle needle k2tog then pass back to first needle. k6 move last stitch on to last needle and k2tog leave on last needle knit toend. 4.6.4

knit 3 rounds

knit 3 put last stitch on to middle needle k2tog pass back to first needle. knit 4 pass last stitch on to last needle k2tog knit to end. 4.4.4

knit 2 rounds

k1, k2tog,k1 repeat for all 3 needles

knit 2 rounds.

cut off length of yarn and pull through remaining stitches you have on needles. Sew ends in.

I did a crochet length to hang these up and sewed a button on to the front.

Getting into the Halloween spirit (early I know but I got excited)

2011-10-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

I'm enjoying decorating for autumn.

I have already carved a pumpkin ( I have another giant one to do for Halloween)

even one of my candles is a pumpkin

and we have tealight candles like nuts that are too pretty to burn

little dried pumpkins in the potpourri

even my knitting has taken on an autumn feel

I've gone slightly crazy :)

megs slouchy hat

2011-10-21T07:38:00.000-07:00

slouchy hat - Fits approx a 10 year old

knitted in sirdar click double knitting with wool.

dk yarn 100g ball

DOUBLE KNIT YARN

with 4mm double pointed needles cast on 138 stitches over 3 needles.

work k2 p2 rib for 8 rows.

the main pattern for this hat is worked in this pattern below

* round 1; (main stitch) purl 3 tog do not move off needle then knit the 3 tog then purl the 3 tog again now move off needle, knit 1 stitch. (repeat until end of round)

round 2; knit all **

KNIT THE REMAINING STITCHES IN ROUNDS THAT ARE NOT ENOUGH TO MAKE PATTERN

repeat from * to ** until piece measures 7 3/4 inches and you are about to do a knit row

Decrese

round 1 of dec
knit 22, k2tog repeat until end of round (knit remaining stitches that are not enough for pattern)

round of main stitch
( note where there is only now 2 stitches not three for main pattern purl2 then knit the two etc)

round 2 of dec
knit 21, k2tog repeat until end of round (knit remaining stitches that are not enough for pattern)

round of main stitch
( note where there is only now 2 stitches not three for main pattern purl2 then knit the two etc)

round 3 of dec
knit 20, k2tog repeat until end of round (knit remaining stitches that are not enough for pattern)

round of main stitch

( note where there is only now 2 stitches not three for main pattern purl 2 then knit the two etc)

break off yarn leaving enough to pull through stitches and fasten off.

It will only take a day or a few weeks

2011-10-20T14:43:00.000-07:00

Well I cant remember how long ago I posted about the fire but its nearly all done (if most of this post is nonsense its because I've been on the vodka again, I don't normally drink during the week but we are on holiday :P )

The wall needs another coat of paint and the cable for the fire needs to go behind the wall
(through one of the pipes that was there for gas fire we had before) into the cupboard behind chair and the skirting board needs to go on.

On my mantle are these gorgeous blocks

and you can get her lovely things from here

http://lajonis-shop.blogspot.com/

Kirstie's Handmade Britain - Eclairs recipe

2011-10-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

After watching last nights episode of Kirstie's handmade Britain I thought I would have a go at the Eclair recipe.Kirsties eclair recipe. It is my first attempt at choux pastry so I wasn't really sure what I was doing.

For some reason my mixture was too runny :/ or at least that is what it felt like. The temperature on recipe is also way too hot for my oven. The first batch were too burned and I threw them away, Some of them I just spooned on baking tray (suggested by a lovely lady on a forum I visit). They tasted lovely when filled with lemon whipped cream.

(I couldnt make her kumquat filling because there are no kumquats in shops here)

Recipe for lemon whipped cream

250ml whipping cream
3 tablespoons sugar (I used caster and ground it with pestle and mortar)
3 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon rind

put it all in bowl and whisk until it forms peaks.

I will try this again and hopefully my piping gets better.

Tesco £5 real food deal - SPAGHETTI WITH LEMON AND THYME CHICKEN

2011-10-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

Just finished eating this £5 meal deal from Tesco.

Unfortunately my own photo turned out rubbish

I'm really going to have to start using our camera to take photos and not using my ipod.

Anyway it tasted really good but the kids aren't convinced and are sitting in the kitchen as we speak pushing it around their plate. Next time I make it I will just make the whole lot of it for me and my husband. Greedy piggie eh!!

The recipe says it feeds 4 but it wouldn't feed 4 men that's for sure, more suited to a couple and their kids. That's if your kids eat it and aren't as fussy as mine.

The Tesco website has a video of it being made

http://www.tescorealfood.com/recipes/spaghetti-with-lemon-and-thyme-chicken.html

hoping they have a beef meal soon.

Double knit oversocks

2011-10-17T11:12:00.001-07:00

Socks to wear over other socks.

(fits approx size 6/7 foot)

1 100g ball of dk yarn

double pointed 4mm needles

(make two the same)

cast on 48 stitches evenly over 3 needles

k2,p2 rib until piece measures 6 inches

divide for heel

knit 12 then turn and purl the 12 you have just knitted and then purl another 12.

you now have 24 stitches which you will work on stocking stitch for 24 rows.

turn heel

knit 12 stitches in the row

(1) k2, sl1 purlwise wyib, k1, psso, k1, turn without finishing row

(2) sl1 purlwise wyif, p5, p2tog,p1 turn without finishing row

(3) sl1 purlwise wyib knit across to 1st stitch before gap made by turning sl1 purlwise, k1, psso, k1, turn

(4) sl1 purlwise wyif, purl to 1st stitch before gap made by turning p2tog, p1, turn

repeat rows 3 and 4 until all stitches have been knitted and there are no more gaps.

(note the last rows you will miss the last k1 and p1 stitches because you will not have enough stitches)

make gusset

knit 7 stitches and place a marker on last stitch to mark end of the round.

using another needle knit across remaining 7 stitches (this will now be needle 1) then pick up and knit 12 stitches down flap side.

work across 24 stitches on needle 2

pick up and knit 12 stitches from other side of flap and knit across final 7 stitches.

total 62 stitches

shape gusset

(round 1) needle 1... knit to last 3 stitches k2tog k1

needle 2... knit across

needle 3... k1,ssk,knit to end

(round 2) knit all stitches

continue in this manner until 48 stitches remain.

work piece until it measures 7 3/4 inches from heel

toe shaping

(round1) needle 1.....knit to last 3 stitches on needle k2tog, k1

needle 2....k1,ssk knit to last 3 stitches k2tog, k1

needle 3 .... k1,ssk knit to end

(round2) knit

repeat rounds 1 and 2 until there are 24 stitches

then repeat round 1 until there are 8 stitches

graft remaining stitches with kitchener stitch.

October break

2011-10-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

Got back yesterday from our October break in a caravan beside Edinburgh . We visited our dynamic earth, museum on the mound (where we saw £1 million pounds), the National museum of Scotland and Edinburgh zoo. The best part is museum on the mound and the national museum were free to visit. We also hired a four seater bike thing, took a walk on the beach and found some huge pieces of sea glass and the kids went to the pool.

Edinburgh is the place to go if you want a towel that like a kilt

some pictures from national museum

view from national museum roof garden

we even managed to visit Ikea which made me a very happy bunny. We got some candles and these tealight/candlestick holders depending which way you turn it

We also bought some kanelbullar which went down a treat in caravan with some tea after a busy day shopping.

One of my favourite parts of the holidays was seeing the penguins at Edinburgh zoo doing their daily walk

Layered candle

2011-10-05T14:13:00.001-07:00

Layered candle made from Yankee candle tarts and homemade wick.

Clementine Candle

2011-10-05T04:23:00.000-07:00

Today I made myself a Clementine candle. You need a clementine (obviously lol) and olive oil.

First you need to score round middle of clementine and then push your finger in and run it around the inside.

Then you need to pull apart and you are left with two pieces like this. Notice one of them has a natural wick, cool eh

you then need to cut a shape out of the top (at this point my husband decided he wanted to join in/interfere and he cut the shape)

You then trim the wick and put in some olive oil. Leave to soak for a while. (maybe you could use this time to eat the clementine :) )

After it has soaked for a while you can light it. You need to hold the match/lighter on it for a moment for it to light.

Leave for a moment and then place the top on it

Sit back and enjoy your candle, mine has been burning for 40 minutes now!!

Tesco £5 real food deal - Leek and potato pot pies

2011-10-04T02:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning we went to Tesco to get their £5 real food deal. We have realised you have to go first thing on the Monday morning because if you don't there is a good chance they wont have all the ingredients. Yesterday morning they didn't have the instruction leaflet out but we could see from the ingredients that it would be a pie. Luckily they have the instructions and a video of it being made online.

http://www.tescorealfood.com/recipes/chicken-and-leek-pot-pies.html

All the of the ingredients you get for £5 are not needed to make the pies so some of our stock, a small amount of cream and half of the leeks went into a soup that we had at lunch time.

We also had enough pastry left over to make some jam tarts.

I do not have tart tins so I cut out the pastry with a pastry cutter and pressed them into the holes in a greased cupcake/yorkshire pudding tin.

I have really enjoyed the last two weeks real food deals, not sure if I will manage to make next weeks as we are off on a little trip.

Shabby chic kitchen

2011-10-03T12:25:00.001-07:00

Recovering stacking stools.

One of my projects that I have not finished yet is sanding and repainting old stacking stools we found at a charity shop. I am on the lookout for a wooden gateleg type table. It would need to be solid wood because I want to sand down the top and paint the legs to match the stools. In an ideal world I would have huge table in my kitchen but having a teenie kitchen means this is not possible. my mission is to find one of these tables at the charity shop and not have to pay a fortune for it.

The stools are covered in cath kidston oilcloth.

It will only take a day

2011-10-02T08:51:00.001-07:00

The next time my husband tells me something is going to take a day I am going to take it with a pinch of salt.

Several days later we have a fire and chunky mantle in like I wanted but we need to wait until plaster has dried at side of fire so we can patch some more, sand then paint.

We had real trouble getting a piece of wood for mantle. The sawmills had nothing suitable so we ended up getting this piece from a boat builder and better still it only cost £10.

Its not as nice as an actual woodburner but it will serve its purpose for a few years.

wall before fire

The brackets that hold mantle

Excuse the dark pictures I'm sitting enjoying the light from fire and candles, cosy!!

Taste the rainbow

2011-09-29T10:39:00.001-07:00

After a total baking disaster with the giant cupcake I was very pleased our skittles vodka had turned out great.

On another note the cupcake might look terrible but it tastes ok. Hopefully I get it right next time.

Now all I need is to get five small bottles so I can make all the colours.

Worlds ugliest cup cake

2011-09-29T07:13:00.001-07:00

Bought myself the big top cupcake kit, its made from silicone. My neighbour said it was great. How I managed to muck it up I will never know. Lets just say I wont be volunteering to make anyone a cake anytime soon lmao.

Lets hope it tastes a whole lot better that it looks.!!

Skittles vodka

2011-09-28T11:42:00.001-07:00

Trying our first attempt at skittles vodka today We took skittles and put them into a empty bottle topped up with some of the vodka and shook like crazy. Hopefully they will have dissolved by tomorrow so we can go to the next step of pouring through a coffee filter to get rid of any scum which I'm told there will be. Then we will top up with some more of the vodka. We used orange and red skittles together. I want to get glass flask bottles sometime in the near future so I can make all the colours. Taste the rainbow!!

Tesco real food £5 deal

2011-09-26T13:11:00.001-07:00

Pork and potatoes with caramelised apples with a wholegrain mustard sauce. Was very good. Busy day no time to craft because husband asked if I would like an electric stove fire in. Me like an idiot said yes and now I have huge hole in living room.

Learning a new knitting technique

2011-09-25T10:56:00.001-07:00

Today I have been learning to double knit. One piece of knitting but a different colour for each side. Pretty cool. Not sure what I am making yet.

Saturday night quilting - Argos value stool cover

2011-09-25T07:10:00.000-07:00

Well not actually the quilting bit because here is some I made earlier. Probably a good job I had made some earlier because I was drinking vodka while making the stool cover.

hexagon quilt

I took one argos value stool http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/6006606/Trail/searchtext%3ESTOOL.htm

sat it upside down on the padding to draw round it to give me exact size of cushion

and then I had a piece like this

and then....... well to be honest it all became a bit fuzzy (that's why you shouldn't drink vodka while you craft)

when I came downstairs this morning I had this

so either I managed to finish it or the elfs did it after I went to bed.

Another crochet necklace

2011-09-24T08:52:00.001-07:00

I seem to be developing a slight obsession with crochet and washers

Saturday shortbread buttons

2011-09-24T05:28:00.000-07:00

Today to keep the kids out of mischief we decided to make shortbread. I had seen cookies made into buttons on internet and they looked so cute we decided to do this with the shortbread instead of just making the usual shape.

FOR THE SHORTBREAD YOU NEED;

1 cup of butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups sifted flour

baking trays that you have lightly sprinkled with flour, cookie cutters, a skewer or something to make button holes and a oven preheated to 180

oh almost forgot a floured rolling pin.

HOW TO MAKE;

Cream sugar and flour then start adding the sifted flour. Mix into a dough then grab it with your hands and squish it into a round shape. Take dough and sit on a floured surface, roll out until it is about 1/4 inch in thickness.

We then used a round cutter to cut out buttons, found something that was just slightly smaller (we used coffee scoop)and pushed it into middle so the sides raised for button shape. Then we took a skewer and pushed it in to make button holes.

Place shapes on baking tray leaving room apart and cook for approx 12 minutes until edges are slightly browned. Leave to cool then transfer to a plate and scoff like greedy piggies.

washer necklaces for my girls

2011-09-23T13:31:00.001-07:00

An idiot deleted this post. So now I have to make it again grrrr lol

cover the washers with crochet like this

assemble your washers together and maybe add a crochet flower or two

and then add some ribbon or a crochet strip to tie necklace.

and hope some idiot doesn't delete the post again

microwave nutella cake

2011-09-23T04:15:00.000-07:00

microwave nutella cake

For one of those days that you fancy some cake but really can't be bothered, microwave nutella cake is the answer.

7 ingredients and less than 3 minutes in microwave you can't beat it.

plus it tastes lovely with ice cream.

What to knit next

2011-09-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

Been awake for a while now, I'm not feeling well so can't sleep. I was thinking what will I knit next. One of my last projects before the horse was a knitted bag. Which I have not used yet because I still need to put in a zip or press studs to keep it closed. I always have a fear that I will lose things out of bags that have no way to close.

my knitted handbag

.

My husband has banned me from buying any more wool until I have used the huge amount that has taken over (very messily I may add) the unit in our bedroom. He says my hoarding stuff is getting out of hand. If you looked in our fridge and saw the shelf that is totally dedicated to my nail polish you might agree and the scary thing is that's not all my nail polish eeek!!!

So what I need are some new projects to use up some wool so I can go buy some more, yipeeee!!!

I may knit the whole family handwarmers like these ones from a lovely pattern from ravelry.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cupcake-mittlets

not sure they would suit the husband though :p

Suppose I better go to bed and attempt to sleep.

night night xx

My knitted hobby horse pattern

2011-09-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

chunky yarn
4mm double pointed needles
glue (I used a gluegun)
broom handle
small amounts of other yarn

This pattern was inspired by one I saw on the internet but cant read the instructions. To make this pattern I used a knitting designer book I have ( Teach yourself visually, knitting design, working from a master pattern to fashion your own knits) that gives you a basic pattern for a sock. Basically you are making a sock :) The decreasing at the nose was not taken from basic sock pattern because it would have made the horse face the wrong shape. The nose decreasing was just trial and error until I found something I liked.

with double pointed needles cast on 48 stitches evenly over 3 needles.
knit every round until piece measures 25cm.

knit 12 then turn and purl across 12 plus 12 from the 3rd needle.
work on these stitches for 24 rows.

(1) knit 12 stitches, k2, sl1 purlwise wyib, k1, psso, k1, turn work

(2) sl1 purlwise wyif, p5, p2tog, p1, turn work

(3) sl purlwise wyib, knit across to first stitch before gap caused by turning sl1 purlwise wyib k1 psso, k1 turn

(4) sl1 purlwise wyif, purl to last stitch before turning gap, p2tog, p1, turn

repeat rows (3) and (4) s more times. ( the last 3 and 4 rows you do you will not have enough stitches for the end k1 or p1)

with right side facing you use an empty needle to knit halfway across stitches you were just working on, place a marker on last stitch so you know where the round starts.

With another empty needle (i stole the needle that one of the 4 stitches were on, I placed them on a stitch holder) knit across remaining heel stitches then using the same needle pick up and knit 12 stitches down side of heel flap.

using another needle work across the instep stitches ( this set of stitches will be needle 2)

with a new needle pick up and knit 12 stitches along other side of heel and knit across remaining heel stitches.

at this point you should have 62 stitches

SHAPE GUSSET

RND 1: knit to last 3 stitches of needle 1 and k2tog, k1
needle 2 knit all stitches
needle 3 k1, ssk, knit to end of round

RND 2: knit
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until 48 stitches remain.

work piece until it measures 18cm from heel.

k2tog, knit 6 repeat for whole round
knit 6 rounds
k2tog, knit 5 repeat for whole round
knit 3 rounds
k2tog, knit 4 repeat for whole round
knit 2 rounds
k2tog, knit 3 repeat for whole round
knit 1 round
k2tog, knit 2 repeat for whole round
knit1 round
k2tog, knit 1 repeat for whole round
knit 1 row
k2tog for whole round

cut yarn and pull through remaining stitches and fasten off

EARS:(make two the same) with 2 of the double pointed needles cast on 24 stitches and stocking stitch 6 rows.
s1 k9 k2tog k9 k2tog k1
s1 purl row
s1 k8 k2tog k8 k2tog k1
s1 purl row
s1 k7 k2tog k7 k2tog k1

continue dec in this fashion until 6 stitches remain
purl to end
s1. k2tog twice. k1
s1 purlto end
k2tog twice
cast off in purl

fold ears in half and sew together

my version of the horse has a covered pole which was made by knitting on double pointed needles.

I cast 9 stitches with 2 strands of double knitting and made a long tube to slide over the pole.

for this horse I used an old curtain pole

for next one I make I may use a broom handle so might need more than 9 stitches for the pole cover so will have to wait and see.

I covered the end of the pole that goes up into horses head with toy stuffing and stuck it on with some duct tape, very technical stuff lol.

I pushed the pole right inside of stuffed head to top because I wanted it to feel secure and not flop about. Then I tied head to pole but left a bit of the neck fabric to glue to pole.

Head was then secured with glue gun.

The pole cover reached the bottom of neck and was sewed on.

Then I made a long cord with crochet and twisted it round top of neck to pole cover and sewed it on to make it look a bit neater.

I made the harness by crochet, although I cant follow a pattern or know any of the crochet terms its made of a crochet strap 3 stitches wide. I just made it long enough to go round nose. Then one to go round neck and then one to join up.

I used hard plastic washers and crochet over them to make rings on the harness.

The bit for the child to hold on to was made with double pointed needles and two strands for double knitting and is a tube for added sturdy ness.

The tube that covers the pole was just sewed at bottom of pole. sort of dragged it round to cover bottom if you know what I mean.

The hair on the horse is dishcloth cotton that is attached and then I pulled the different strands apart to make it look a bit scruffy.

The eyes are made of a strip of crochet rolled into a circle and sewed together.

This pattern was inspired by this gorgeous one http://www.yhteishyva.fi/vapaa-aika_perhe/neuleohjeet/keppihevonen_villasukasta/fi_FI/keppihevonen_neuloen_villasukan_ohjeella/ unfortunately it is in finnish and when I put it into the translator I still don't understand it.

Mini banana loaves

2011-09-21T08:04:00.001-07:00

Husband and mini me are making mini banana loaves. Have to resist from eating loads of them because I am trying to lose a bit of weight.

Recipe:

175g brown sugar
125g butter or margarine
2 eggs
4 bananas
grated rind of 1 lemon
2 tsp lemon juice
250g self raising flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp bicarb soda

mix all together stick into mini loaf tins and cook for approx 25 minutes at 180
waiting to go into oven.

out of oven and tasting scrummy!!

Hobby the knitted Hobby Horse.

2011-09-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

Hobby the knitted horse my version of this pattern.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/huima-ja-assa

Even when translated the pattern didnt make enough sense for me to follow so I had to make my own one which I will post here after I have knitted it again in a few days.