Winter Warmers

Today I made Steak and Kidney pie. It is cold outside, and horrible weather, so I thought I should opt for a nice, warming, Traditional English meal.  Pastry isn't my forte, but I was largely pleased with how it turned out (although my Mum's is better!).  We have a Belgian lodger, so I am trying to show him that there is a lot of Good Food to be had in England....!  My 20 month old however, was in a contrary mood and wanted Marmite Toast. You win some, you lose some.

I also made some fudge this evening. I'm planning to do parcels of fudge for some of my relatives that I see less frequently, and so have no idea of what to do for them for Christmas.  It's only right that one should test the recipe out beforehand, and this was a nice chance to test-run my new sugar thermometer too.

It tastes SO good. Al and I had to test some out with our post dinner tea/coffee....

On the craft front- For yesterday/today's Craft Fair contributions I have made some knitting needle cases. These always seem to be exorbitantly priced for something which is so simple, so I looked at the one I have (which was passed on to me by my Granny-in-law) and roughly copied the design. I'm pleased with the results, and am just putting some finishing touches on a second one.

I haven't decided what is next on the crafting agenda for tonight/tomorrow. I'd welcome any ideas... Hope you are all well and having better weather than here in Oxford....

And on the menu today....

Cafetiere cosies...  With buttons....

And with reversible ones with ribbons...

Fun!

Pre Craft-Fair challenge!

I have decided to set myself the challenge to make a different thing every day over the next (almost) two weeks leading up to the Craft Fair...
Yesterday:  Some lovely baby shoes from my vintage baby knit book in turquoise.

I love this pattern- it was really easy to knit, and the results were beautiful- and they are perfectly possible to make a pattern in an evening! This size is 3-6 months, but they are big enough to do older than 6 months. I'm now doing another pair in 0-3 months in red.

For the close of last week, I made some hand-sketched Autumn note-cards. This was lots of fun, and not something I've done before:

Next up. Some Cafetiere cosies, and knitting needle cases.

Also today, I enjoyed some lovely time with friends and their little ones. A particularly gorgeous moment was when two of the littlies were chatting to each other whilst looking out of the window into the Autumn/Winter mist...

Happy Monday, and have a lovely week.

Autumn evenings

I am hugely enjoying spending my evenings (after marking and housework!) getting on with crafts for my upcoming stall at a Craft Fair (please contact me if you would like details about when and where it is). At the moment I am loving getting some daily inspiration from this fabulous crafty blog.

This week I am pleased to have finished some bunting...

I started this a few weeks back, but wanted to borrow a friend's machine for the zig-zag stitching.  

I was also glad to complete some reversible fabric tissue box covers, which were mostly fun to make, but with a few frustrations when trying to complete the machining. That said, I'm generally happy with the result...

I have been hugely enjoying knitting fingerless gloves recently- somehow they seem to cheer up Autumn and Winter days with a splash of colour. I've been branching out on patterns, and the below pair were initially intended to be one colour, but I finished the ball about two rows from the end. I decided that instead I'd redo the last few rows in both hands another colour, which I think looks really nice!

I've had a busy day of cooking (making a post-natal meal for a friend who has recently had a baby), and enjoyed making some Chocolate Crumb Cake. Whenever I used to go and visit my Grandparents, Nanna would always have made this, complete with chocolate sprinkles on top! It never failed to delight us, and, quite frankly, still tastes amazing as a "grown-up"! 

Also on the cards today was volunteering at the Baby Cafe, always a fun time of cups of tea, getting to know more people, holding some new-born babies, and helping ladies with their breastfeeding!

Right. Up next- finishing a patchwork cushions, and making some cafetiere covers (as inspired by this blog tutorial).

In other news. Al and I found out this week that we are having a little girl in the Spring. I am eagerly anticipating getting knitting and sewing, although I think I will be waiting until Christmas presents have all been made first...

What are other people making? Enjoy your Autumn evenings...

Oh Crumbs!

A very dear friend of mine is well known for her freezing habits! Amongst the goodies in her freezer, you will find home-made breadcrumbs, crumble-mix and "emergency scone mix"! Taking a leaf out of her book, today I decided to use up some stale bread and make some breadcrumbs to go on top of a tasty lasagne. Whilst I was at it, I made a bulky bag, so that I should be in stock for quite a while...










Today I made some delicious Carrot and Coriander soup (loving BBC Good food at the moment!) which was a lovely Autumn warmer for a family who were busy doing jobs around the house (and a little boy who is currently poorly). I highly recommend the recipe (see link) as this was really good...

In crafty news, I have been making needle cases for my craft stall from a pattern in the lovely Cath Kidston Sew! book.

These turned out really nicely, but they were very fiddly to make!  I had to write some amendments onto my pattern as they seem to have missed out a few steps, however I was pleased with the end product (although I may play around with the design for future attempts).







Next up... pin cushions and some bunting....!
Happy weekend, and, for those in the teaching profession, happy half-term!

Branching out...

Over the last few weeks I have been doing a variety of crafty bits and bobs. Lots in preparation for my stall next month at the School craft Fair. Some of my projects have been...

Starting a patchwork cushion cover under my Mum's instruction....

Pinning fabric panels onto some flannels for little personalised wash cloths... These are lovely for a little gift, and you can use whatever fabric you have handy!

 

A spot of card making.... I haven't done any for ages- particularly since moving house, but I located some of my card making materials the other evening and cleared a spot on the table and set about making a batch of cards. A satisfying evening's entertainment.

And a day isn't a day in our household without a little knitting... I am currently working on a couple of different pairs of fingerless gloves and wrist-warmers.  The above pair is adapted from a pair in the "Sirdar Weekend Denim" pattern book, and have a lovely chunky effect.

I always appreciate suggestions of good fingerless glove patterns, as these are a particular favourite of mine to knit at present....

Catching up...

 As mentioned in a previous post, I have got lots of catching up to do in terms of making things for an upcoming craft stall, so, last weekend I was making fingerless gloves, thanks to a super easy pattern shared on http://tinyhappy.typepad.com/tiny_happy/2006/06/winter_hands.html
The first pair were made from a nice chunky sirdar Tweedie wool...

These gloves grow really fast and are lovely and comfy- brilliant for the increasingly cool mornings!

I have made these in several colours and sizes. Some of my favourites are....

  

I particularly like the fairisle effect Crofter Chunky wool. It knits up beautifully, and gives a bit of interest to an otherwise quite plain pattern!

In other news, I have been enjoying using a certain cooking book....

and last weekend I made a firm favourite- potage parmentiers (leek and potato soup). SUCH a simple recipe, but so delicious...

Besides making the fingerless gloves as shown above, I have been making some more of the beautiful fingerless cabled gloves as shown here. These are a lot more fiddly than the chunky knit ones, but the effect is gorgeous. They are done in DK yarn, and can be made to varying length. The ones I am currently working on are not massively long...

... and I have just discovered (thanks Mum!) Katia Ondas yarn, which makes a scarf in one ball...

FUN!

On a less fun note, this is what I am doing with lots of the rest of my time...

 Grr. Marking! 

Happy Wednesday.