A finished project and a day out.

I finished the garter stitch cardigan on Friday.  I'm pleased with the result.

I think P looks rather gorgeous in it too...

It was a nice easy pattern using only garter stitch, and with one row of decreasing (making the eyelets for the ribbon to go through).  I used King Cole DK Smooth.  It is lovely to knit with, and although it's actually acrylic, it feels really light, and quite like bamboo.

Yesterday we had a trip to the Zoo with Husband, Small Ones, and Grandparents.  It was a lot of fun.  E was absolutely captivated by a little train which drove around the site, and paid it far more attention than he did the Lions, Zebras and Giraffes!

Al's parents bought a fabulous picnic, and during lunch time we (I say 'we', I really mean 'they'!) attempted a cryptic crossword.
It was an overcast and windy day, but kind of perfect for an outdoor day, as no one was worrying about trying to keep little ones out of the sun etc. - very different from the scorching heat of today! (Talking of that, does anyone have any tips for keeping a very grumpy baby cool in the heat? She does NOT want to go to sleep tonight!).

What a lovely way to spend a Saturday.

To finish, I'll give you a sneak peak of what wonders arrived in the post for me this week... Any guesses on the projects I am now starting?!

Have a lovely week.

C x

Clafoutis and Yarn.

Last week I was given a bag of fresh rhubarb and coriander (not mixed!).  I don't often eat rhubarb, and am rather ambivalent about it in crumble, so I decided to make clafoutis.  We had a delicious one of these when visiting some friends in France last year, and I've quite fancied the idea of making it since.

It's essentially a sweet batter, with a spiced cooked rhubarb filling.  It's delicious, and we thoroughly enjoyed eating it!
I enjoyed using the coriander too, and made a lovely lime and coconut chicken, and a carrot and coriander soup.  Thanks Nadine!

I've not blogged much about yarn recently.  I have been knitting, but things are getting made less quickly at the moment with two little ones taking up lots of time! BUT- I have renewed vigour and am steaming ahead, as I have some lovely things lined up to make.
I am almost at the end of a Debbie Bliss garter stitch cardi for P, and I have three new projects I am about to start... EXCITING!
I'll give you a sneak peak of the cardi, but I'll save most of the info on this for when I have completed it.

I'll finish with a couple of shots, nothing to do with cooking or crafts in the least, but everything to do with what most of my time is currently spent on...

Goodnight friends!

C x

Can a girl have too many shoes?

Since getting my new sewing machine, I decided that I needed a little project to get started on it.  I chose these lovely baby shoes from "Handmade beginnings" by Anna Maria Horner (who, if you are interested, has a lovely blog).  I made them in 0-3 months size, and used a Cath Kidston fabric with a white floral print inside, finished with a lovely big chunky button to adorn them.

In addition to this, I made a pair of little garter stitch silk slippers from Simple knits for cherished babies, in some 4-ply wool I had left over from a project a while back.  I decided to add a couple of odd buttons to give them a little feature.

The pattern is really simple, and they can easily be completed in an evening.  I enjoyed making them so much, that I thought I'd adapt the pattern to use moss stitch instead of garter stitch, and I used the slightly larger Debbie Bliss Cashmerino wool (which is oh so lovely to knit with!).  I was particularly pleased with the result...

Nice, and again quite simple, but in need of a little extra something, which was provided with a little bit of stitching around the edges...

So. There are still 10 weeks left until number 2 arrives, but she already has a growing shoe collection. Well, start as she may well go on I guess.....!
Happy Weekend.