A Sock Finish and A Walk with the Ducks

Before I start on anything else lets just give this weeks stars of the show the recognition they deserve ta daa...

To say that it's been a while since I made any I was quite surprised at how well they turned out, it must be like riding a bicycle once you have learnt to ride a bike you never forget (not that I ever learnt to ride a bike!) same goes for making socks.

You will note that it's the yarn that gives them the wow factor these are the easiest socks you can make, I have tried others with cables and such but with a variegated yarn a plain sock pattern will do.

I have decided these socks are going to be gifted but I won't say to whom for obvious reasons. 

I have used Winwick Mums Basic 4ply sock pattern.

I have just had a root about in my stash and have found this yarn....

I can't remember how I acquired it but I'm pleased I have found it as I've been toying with the idea of making a hat with sock yarn for myself, I don't suit hats it has to be said but when one is walking along the shore and the cold north wind is blasting you directly from the sea who cares what you look like as long as your head is warm don't you agree? 

Anyway what I want to ask is, has anyone made a hat with sock yarn before and if so, does it keep you warm? I'm asking because the yarn is so fine. I'm thinking it's pure wool and if I make a long enough brim so that it can be folded back giving double protection to ones ears then it should work don't you think? 

More Craft Talk

I have been experimenting with Tapestry Crochet ...

It took me a whole afternoon to make this tiny square. It's fiddly because you carry your second colour along the row and enclose it in the stitch you are working on. I want to explore further there are loads of tutorials on YouTube if anyone wants to give it a try. That little swatch will be used as a little coaster. Has anyone else tried it? I would be interested in your thoughts. 

I have also been working on another Christmas Cushion the front is finished so I will finish the back hopefully this weekend and then I can show you that next week.

Joe's Pond and a Walk in Rainton Meadows.

A couple of weeks ago we actually had a bit of sunshine and slightly higher temperatures, what a difference it makes.  A friend and I decided to drive just slightly further afield and walk in Rainton Meadows.  It's beautiful to walk there in the warmer months but like everywhere else quite stark in the winter. Joe's Pond is situated right next to the meadows and more than makes up for the lack of lush greenery and like I have said before, if there's water to be seen in any shape or form it adds to the walking experience and even more so if there are ducks and swans involved.

As always I took dozens of photos choosing just a few out of the many is always hard.

So here we are the last weekend before Christmas already, I have a feeling the shops will be crowded and I'm glad that I don't need to join the throng, I intend having a walk to my local town centre before the forecasted rain begins to pour, to find a Christmas tree cookie cutter because I fancy making some Gingerbread Cookies following Jules from A Hidden Gems recipe here

Wish me luck! if it's crowded I won't linger and will get one from Amazon instead, with Covid numbers rising so rapidly I can't understand why people would want to crowd into shops.

Have a lovely and safe weekend 😘

Click here to see the great parties I will be linking to.

The week of The Christmas Pud and a bit of A Chat

 I don't mean edible puds although I do like those a lot but I think I will be buying those rather than making, no I'm talking about knitted Chocolate Orange Covers.

My local Macmillan Cancer Support have asked for these to sell for fundraising, I wish I had started earlier but I only got to hear about this a couple of weeks ago, now you know what that yarn was for I showed you back here but before I got started I wanted to finish my Christmas cushion first. 

I get bored when making lots of the same thing all at once, I don't mind making one or two now and then but because time was of the essence I have put all my other craft projects to one side for this week to make these.

These are a doddle to make thanks to Marianna's easy pattern here but they are somewhat fiddly and you do have to be in the mood. Added to which they are knitted and as I'm still working on the knitted baby blanket and  socks it's put quite a large strain on my hands and they are starting to hurt, so after I have finished these knitting projects I had better stick to crochet for a while as that doesn't seem to bother them as much and I'm missing it, I haven't done any crochet for nearly two weeks and I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms I want to start on my third cushion.

Yay! twelve complete.

Advent

I'm feeling a little bit sad that I didn't get an advent calendar, looking around blogland many of you are opening tantalising little packages and blogging everyday, what fun! I will have to be sure to be more prepared for next year. I start off with the best of intentions but somehow time seems to get away with me and I leave things too late. 

One thing that I do look forward to every year is The Drops Christmas Calendar, I love clicking on those little doors everyday and finding a free festive pattern behind them. 

A new Supermarket

A new Morrisons supermarket has opened near us, it was supposed to open years ago but the building has remained empty until now. I went for the first time yesterday and was quite impressed it's a nice store bright clean with friendly staff. It will be even better when they are allowed to open the restaurant when Covid restrictions lighten, we are in tier three at the moment.

I can't believe I actually took photos of a supermarket but I guess you have to get your excitement where you can in these strange days haha.

Melting Moments

I tried out the new mixer and it works😆 My friend Babs mentioned that she had made some of these and it brought back memories, we made these at school and I haven't had any for years so of course I had to make some and they tasted even better than I remembered.  I got the recipe from the Bero Book which I love,  I know you can find all sorts of amazing recipes online but I always go back to my trusty Bero Book have you got one? I have the latest edition but I have also got an earlier edition too it's falling to bits but I treasure it as some of the older recipes aren't in the newer editions. 

You can find a similar recipe here or order a Bero Book here.

Guess what I'll be doing this weekend 😄

Have a lovely weekend.😘

Click here to see all the great parties I will be linking to.

Socks and Flowers Still in Bloom.

 There seems to be an awful lot of sock making going on in blogland right now and I have been trying to resist the urge to join in as I really don't need any more socks, I have looked back and found that the last pair of socks I made for myself was in April 2017 it doesn't seem that long ago!

I really enjoy making socks and could quite happily have a pair on the needles all of the time but I'm trying to be sensible, how many pairs of socks does a gal need! I have noticed that handmade socks never seem to wear out I'm still quite happily wearing the first pair I ever made back in May 2015 and they still look brand new.

So why did I start...well apart from being influenced by everyone else's sock making, I was in a weakened state because I had just finished her Majesty the Queen (thank you so much for all the lovely comments in my last post about her by the way😊) and was between projects which is quite a dangerous place for me to be, I need to have something to work on all the time!

To be fair I've had the sock making urge for a while and when I found sock yarn in my stash that was it...

It's so nice to make something mindless for a change because those mosaic blankets do take a bit of concentration.

I will be casting the second sock on too so that I can knit them both together and avoid second sock syndrome which I am quite prone too. I'm following the basic 4ply sock pattern which can be found  here

I was able to get out into the garden yesterday and do some work because we've had dry weather for two whole days! I have been wanting to give the grass it's last cut of the season but it's been too wet 

Before

After! still lots of  baby apples on my little tree

Autumn leaf clear up, these went into an old compost bag and will make great mulch for the flower beds once they have broken down.

I love this Fatsia it has done so well this year and it's produced it's own Firework display.

And here is Ben (you can read about Bens makeover here) quite unperturbed about the leaves surrounding his feet, I was going to put him indoors for the winter but he insisted on staying outside he says the cordyline tree shelters him quite well and he refuses to give up his pipe  and smoking indoors is a big no no.  I will keep an eye on him though and if I see any signs of distress, inside he will go pipe or no pipe. 😉

I'm going to pick whats left of the dahlias and enjoy them indoors before the frost strikes.

 So this weekend I will be working on my socks and a couple of other things I've started to be revealed later, why is one project never enough? have a count and see how many you are working on right now, counting the sewing I have five plus one which I have put aside for now to be completed later.

I am also planning on making a lemon drizzle cake which was shown on Lorraine this morning .....

Recipe here if you fancy making it too.

Have a cosy weekend.😘😘

Parties I will be linking to.

A Lovely Gift

 As some of you will be aware I am a member of Loving Hands a group of lovely people who knit, crochet and sew for a number of charities and have been since 2009.  We have a lively forum and a 'would anybody like' thread where members offer unwanted craft items to other members. 

Last week one of the members asked if anyone would like a tapestry frame that had been given to her and she had no use for, I had been thinking of buying one because I'm really enjoying embroidery and cross stitch again so I jumped at the chance and it was delivered yesterday, I had to laugh because it was a bit like pass the parcel Karen had wrapped it so well but I was delighted when I finally managed to get it open....

I love that Tapestry! I haven't done a tapestry since I was 24 years old when I first went to Syria where I lived for nearly twenty years.  They had a huge market there where you could buy everything that you could possibly need craft wise, I remember I was like a kid in a candy store and seeing this brought it all back to me. Of course the subject matter is very English in this Tapestry, funnily enough  the one I did in Syria was too.  

I had planned on removing the tapestry and putting the twelve days of Christmas cross stitch into the frame but I have decide to leave it in and work on this too. 😊

The weather has been terrible this week, the rain continues to fall as I write this  I feel as if I've been stuck indoors for ages appart for a long walk to the shops taking a detour so that I could see some Autumn colour and crunch my way through some Autumn leaves

Last weekend my son and daughter in law and little grandson Mikey came through for a socially distanced visit we met in a car park right next to the sea front and we had a walk along the promenade.  Mikey loves water and the sea in particular and insisted on getting as close as he could .  It was inevitable that a huge wave would come along and drench him and my daughter in law haha, luckily Christa had clean clothes in his bag and she was able to change his trousers and socks and blot the worst of the water out of his shoes.

We walked back to the car park just before the heavens opened, got a take away coffee and sat in our respective cars with the windows down and chatted while the rain splashed down around us a lot of it coming in through the window too. It was short but very sweet and so lovely to see them and so hard not to be able to kiss and cuddle my little grandson and it looks like things are only going to get worse. 

I have been making a lot of soup of late as it seems the most logical thing to eat right now, you can't beat a lovely bowl of homemade soup when the weathers getting cooler and the days shorter.  I had some chestnut mushrooms and wanted to use those but because of my gastric reflux problems I have to be careful... 

I had a search and found this recipe 

Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

• 50g/2oz butter
• 2 leeks, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 300g/9oz mushrooms, sliced
• 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
• 600ml/1 pint chicken or vegetable stock

It was so easy to make and really tasty I will be making it again that's for sure you can find the full recipe here 

On the crafting front the Queen CAL Blanket is finished! but because I want to take lots of photo's I will post about it early next week.  The pattern for this blanket is discounted until the end of this month so if anyone is thinking of buying it now is the time.😊

I have yet to decide what to make in November too there are so many idea's buzzing around my head my 'would like to make' list is a mile long I shall be pondering over the weekend and will have made a definite decision by Monday.  

Have a great weekend and stay safe.😘

Click here to see the great parties I will be linking to.

The End Is In Sight!

 We are approaching the last leg of the Queen CAL already can you believe it! I can't begin to tell you what a huge satisfaction it gave me as I crossed each row off the chart, there were six charts in all. 

This morning I knotted and trimmed the edges and as I write this I have just had an email telling me that the last part of the pattern is published yay! that's the double border. 

The double border will take me a while as it is what is says a double border one at the front and one at the back, the two are then joined together to seal in the ends, hopefully the big reveal will be in the next couple of weeks, that will take me nicely up to November and then I can decide what my November projects are going to be. 

I can't believe how quickly the days are flying past, I was reflecting on this time last year when everything was normal can you even remember normal? Anyway a friend was going to a Halloween party and he asked me to make him a crochet scarf to complete his Halloween outfit at very short notice,  you know it's amazing how quickly you can knock something up when you can crochet.....

Easy Peasy Halloween Scarf...

I made this in a couple of evenings, I had the yarn in my stash, a huge ball of Poundstretcher Aran,  just goes to prove you always need a stash of  yarn because you never know when you need to make something at short notice like this.

An easy peasy halloween scarf  made in htr (UK) hdc(US)  

I scouted around the internet for some scary skull and spider patterns and found the skull pattern here and the spider pattern here 

I left the fringe raggy on purpose for effect you don't need neat for Halloween. 

My friend was delighted and it raised some favourable comments apparently. All he needs to do now is remove the motifs trim the fringe and he'll have a nice warm scarf to wear whenever he needs it. 

I forced myself to go out for a walk the other day you know how it is when you're sitting cosy inside with your crochet on your lap, cup of coffee and biscuit ( more about those later) at your side, who wants to go out! 

Once I made the effort I was so glad that I had, the weather was quite mild and it was perfect for a beach walk...

Interesting caves to explore too. 

I really enjoyed the walk and went further than I intended, just getting back before the tide cut me off further along the beach.

Those biscuits 

I had been tidying my kitchen cupboards and found a jar of peanut butter and a jar of honey that were almost empty so I decided to use them to make more room in my cupboard....

Honey and Peanut Cookies...

2 cups SR flour

1cup oats

125 grams butter

100 grams light brown sugar

100 grams honey

2 tablespoons peanut butter

Place honey, butter, peanut butter and sugar in a saucepan and stir until completely melted, add the mixture to the dry ingredients combine and then roll mixture into balls, place on a baking tray and slightly flatten with a fork.  Bake for 10 minutes until golden brown on gas mark 180C or 350F

So quick and easy to make and they tasted so good! in fact they are nearly gone already so I'm now thinking about what to make next.🤔

Bargain Buy!

My daughter and I like to visit the local garden centre for a coffee on Sundays and last week they were selling these Chrysanths off for just £1....

When the flowers die off I can plant them in my garden and hopefully they will flower again next year.😊

I hope you all have a great weekend! 😘

Click here to see all the great Parties I will be linking to this week.