Saturday 27 October 2012

Mittens and candy canes

I haven't been posting much recently as I can't :( I am taking part in some secret exchanges and so all my new stuff can't be shown just in case the person they are intended for sees them.

I have however been busy ferreting away with other stuff too including going and getting myself a new job woohoo. I am really looking forward to getting in the workforce again after being a stay at home mum for so long.

I have made some candy canes as a practice for Christmas. Here is how to make them. 

You will need:
One packet of ready made regal icing
Peppermint flavouring, red and green food colouring paste



soften your icing by kneading it until soft and pliable.

Add peppermint flavouring to taste I like mine quite strong and so used a lot, if the icing starts to become sticky add some icing sugar to firm up again.

Half the icing leaving half white, half the other half and colour one section green and the other red

When you have finished you should end up with something looking like this
 make a sausage of white and a thinner one of a colour
Twist together and roll to seal them together.

Put them onto a wire rack to dry out over night. store in a sealed container until required, they can last for months as long as they remain airtight.

you will end up with something like the ones below 

I have also made some mittens to go with the girls matching sets for Christmas. I couldn't find a pattern that would work for all three sets and so I came up with on of my own using a few other patterns I found. here is the result and underneath is the pattern.

Cast on 34 stitches using 4.5mm needles
row 1 knit 2 purl 2 to end
row 2 purl 2 knit 2 to end
repeat these two rows 9 times so you have 18 rows altogether
row 19 k2, p2
row 20 k2, p2, k2, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, p1, k2, p2, k1, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, p2,k2,p2, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k1, p2, k2, p1 increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k2, p2, k2. (you should now have 38 stitches)
row 21 knit to end repeat 5 more times
row 27 k18, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k18
row 28 knit to end
row 29 k20, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k20
row 30 knit to end
row 31 k21, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k21
row 32 knit to end
row 33 k22, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back,increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k22
row 34 knit to end
row 35 k23, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back k23
row 36 knit to end
row 37 k24, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k24
row 38 knit to end
row 39 (you should now have 52 stitches) k18, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, slip the next 14 stitches on to a stitch holder, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k18.
(leave the 14 stitches on holder as this is thumb)
At this point things change for each pair you are making as you only need to go as high as the top of the little finger for the person you are making for. measure from the top of the ribbing to the top of the little finger before starting to decrease. just knit each row to end to the required length.
to start decrease, 
row 1 knit 2 together, k8 repeat to end
 row 2 knit to end
row 3  knit 2 together, k7 repeat to end
row 4 knit to end
row 5  knit 2 together, k6 repeat to end
row 6 knit to end
row7  knit 2 together, k5 repeat to end
row 8 knit to end
row 9 knit 2 together, k4 repeat to end
row 10 knit to end
row 11 knit 2 together, k3 repeat to end
row 12 knit to end
row 13 knit 2 together to end
row 14 knit to end
row 15 cast off

For the thumb
Pick up the 14 stitches
row 1 increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k12, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back,
row 2 - 10 knit to end
row 11 knit 2 together to end
cast off

Make up by sewing the seam along one side and on the thumb.

One last thing before I go is my TUSAL report which I am very late for :(



Sunday 14 October 2012

The Wedding


The Wedding
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
Day Seven
Day Eight
Day Nine
 Day Ten
Day Eleven
Day Twelve
Day Thirteen
Day Fourteen
Day Fifteen
Day Sixteen
Day Seventeen
Day Eighteen
Day Nineteen
 Day Twenty
Day Twenty One
 Day Twenty Two
Days Twenty Three to Twenty Seven have been lost due to phone malfunction :(
Day Twenty Eight
Day Twenty Nine
 Day Thirty
 Day Thirty One
 Day Thirty Two
Day Thirty Three
 Day Thirty Four
 Day Thirty Five
Day Thirty Six
Finished in it's frame

Hats all done

I have been busy knitting away this week making the matching hats to the girls scarfs.

I will give you a quick pattern to make your own underneath


OK so you need to know how many stitches to cast on. Using 3mm needles. You need to measure around the head in cm. You then multiply that number by 2.3. you then round to the nearest number. For example Kerry's head is 55cm.
So I multiply that by 2.3 to get 126.5 I will round that up to 127 and cast on that many.

First row knit to end
Second row purl to end
repeat these two rows a further 4 times. This causes the bottom to curl up (which is what you want)
Switch to 3.75mm needles and knit each row until the work is 14cm long.
Then on a RS (you are looking at the side of the work that goes on the outside) knit 1, knit 2 together. repeat this for the whole row ending on a knit 1.
next row knit to end
next row knit 1, knit 2 together. repeat this for the whole row ending on a knit 1.
next row knit to end
knit 1, knit 2 together. repeat this for the whole row ending on a knit 1.
next row knit to end
knit 1, knit 2 together. repeat this for the whole row ending on a knit 1.
next row knit to end
knit 1, knit 2 together. repeat this for the whole row ending on a knit 1.
next row knit to end
knit 1, knit 2 together. repeat this for the whole row ending on a knit 1.
next row knit to end.
From this point you knit 1 knit 2 together on all rows until you have no stitches left.
Leave a long piece of yarn to stitch up your  work.

This is the pattern for both Kerry and Jessica's hat.
Emily's hat is a little different, but only in that the first 8 rows rather than knitting the whole row then purling a whole row I knit 3 purl 3 on all 8 rows making sure that I kept the pattern right so it would stretch correctly.

Here is how to make the pompoms on the top.
1. Wrap yarn around your hand several times.
2. The more times you wrap the bigger your pompom will be.


3. Remove your hand and pinch the yarn around the middle.

4. Tie another piece of yarn around the middle and pull it tight knot until secure.

5. cut all the loops of yarn all the way around.

6. You should end up with something like this.

7. Trim the ends to make it a uniform ball.

8. Using the ends of the yarn you tied around you could either trim them  to form part of the pompom or like I am use them to attach to the top of the hat.

9. Pull both ends through the top of your hat  and tie a couple of knots 

10. trim off excess yarn












11. This is how it looks.
I have also gotten 'The Wedding' back from the framers. It looks great if I do say so myself. Here, have a look.
Hehehe it's still in the wrapping. I can not wait until she sees it. I hope she loves it as much as I do.

Oh yes I also baked some muffins today they were delish. Here's the recipe
250g self raising flour
140g caster sugar
100g dessicated coconut
150ml millk
120ml vegetable oil
1 large egg

mix all ingredients together in a bowl split between 12 muffin cups and bake on 180 for 20 mins. how easy is that?
I was going to take a photo of them but they were all eaten before I could.

Ok all of to work out how to knit some mittens now. Speak soon x