My Mitts....

My first attempt at knitting with double-pointed needles. It's a little stretched where I had a few issues with keeping the needles together but not too bad.  Hopefully the second one will be done by next week.

Please excuse the pizza boxes!

One present down and a little crafty rant....

One positive thing has come out of being off work. I have been able to plan and make a few Christmas presents. The first completed item is my cable hot water bottle for my niece.

This is from a pattern in Lets Knit Magazine and was made using Sirdar Supersoft Aran yarn. My favourite bargain Aran yarn. It is so soft and yet the 100g balls are only £3.15 in my local sewing shop and I used less than one ball. I bought 3 so I am trying to think of something else to knit with it...possibly a cover for my netbook if I can find a good pattern.

As much as possible I try to use the yarn specified in the pattern and did so in this project. Sometimes though it just isn't and this is where I start a little rant if you don't mind. There are some beautiful yarns available made from exotic fibres that are obviously much better quality than the man-made alternatives but why do they have to be so damned expensive?! I simply refuse to spend more on yarn to make a project than I would spend in a shop to buy the finished article. It's just ridiculous! I found a lovely tank top pattern the other week that would cost £60 just for the wool! OK, rant over.

Coming soon (hopefully) a chunky bag. x

Of illness and a bit of knitting....

I have had a horrible cold and I am not feeling good at all. I am at the sneezy, running nose stage which hopefully means it's on it's way out but it means I have to endure the blocked nose stage which seems to happen at night and affects my sleep. To top it off, my smoke alarm keeps beeping (I think the battery is running out) and I can't reach it to sort it out and England lost in the Rugby Quarter Final.

Anyway, despite my ills, I have managed to make a start on my Christmas gifts. I have started making my hot water bottle cover (pattern from Lets Knit Magazine) and you can see my progress on Ravelry.

Here is the cover so far. This is the first proper attempt at cabling and it's going pretty well. I'm not sure if you can tell but there seems to be an error in the chart I am following . It's not my error because I am following the pattern exactly but I am almost wishing I had changed it myself. Of course there is always the risk if I do that of messing up further along which is why I stuck to the pattern so I am hoping no one will notice! And, if I do knit this again (and I definitely bought enough wool to do another) I will change it.

I found some really nice patterns by Kind Cole in Snip today (the wool is a bargain too) so I might have to go back there in the next few weeks. I hear another project calling already! :)

Today I Love.....

Cath Kidston. Her designs are so simple and stunning.

Her sew book has gone to the top of my Christmas wish list this year. I see an interest in sewing brewing! That will be another craft to add to my list despite that fact that I am scared to use a sewing machine...

I could so get in to the whole sewing thing and be a real craft lover; baking, sewing and knitting; especially with fabrics like this:

Apparently....

Kenco says knitters are on the rise! - Simply Knitting

They certainly are! I have been trawling through the internet today in search of more Christmas gift ideas. I want to make some nice little gifts for family and friends so I really need to get started. I don't really want to spend lots of money on knitting books (unless a particularly nice one catches my eye!) as that would defeat the whole point of a frugal Christmas. I have found some cute little patterns on the Let's Knit Magazine website (see the link in My Favourite Places).

In other crafty news, my new book is on it's way! Happy face! Since I started baking I have wanted a single baking book that has all types of cakes, bread and pastry recipes from the classic to the unique and I found it.

Step-By-Step Baking (image from Amazon) is that book. I can't wait to get my hands on it and start making some cakes and bread! I already am pretty good at cupcakes (albeit low-faff all in one jobs...they are pretty awesome though if I do say so myself) but I need to practice bigger cakes, victoria sponges, fruit cakes, etc. I also have this urge to practice a bit of cake decorating too.

This is on the assumption that I will have time in my busy schedule for baking! I confirmed my volunteer teaching assistant job today and I start on the 6th October. My weeks from the 3rd October will be as follows:

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will be work from 7am to 5pm, Thursday I will be in school from around 8.30am to 3.30pm and Friday I will be back at work from 8am to 5pm. Wednesdays I have rainbow meetings from 6pm until 7pm. I need to fit in 16 hours of study a week (mostly on the weekends) and 5 days a week I need to fit in an hour of exercise at the gym.....whew! I am exhausted just typing that. At least I won't be bored.....bring it on!

Home-made Christmas ideas

Some Christmas ideas. As I'm making my gifts this year, it's never too early! These sites have been bookmarked....

BBC Good Food - Christmas gifts

Delicious Magazine Christmas Gift Recipes:

Food Channel Christmas Hamper Ideas

I like the idea of doing mini Christmas cakes and some kind of chutney with cheeses and home-made biscuits.

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