making, mending, baking, reflecting

It's that time of year again.... when I feel the need to blog about all those forgotten bits and bobs from this year and panic that it has to be done before 31st December otherwise THE WORLD WILL IMPLODE.

Or something to that extent.

It's also the time of year where I bake perverted gingerbread santas, boobie angels and questionably festive dinosaurs.

 And a new addition this year... moustaches!

2018 has been full on, but pretty positive for me. I bought a little house (all by myself), have been renovating said house (complete gut job - nearly finished), turned 30 (I guess this means I'm grown up?) and started learning ballet (hard work but amazing and making me feel so much healthier.) Sadly that means my baking and sewing have taken a nose dive but I know they'll come back when I have the time. 

I've only sewn one item this year besides my wedding guest outfit in February. ONE. And that was a rainbow stripe Tilly and the Buttons Agnes top.

Although I initially really liked it at the time (in April) I haven't reached for it since. I think it was because it felt slightly too big, mostly because the jersey has a higher stretch percentage and I didn't account for that when I was sewing. Looking at this photo though (which I took the other day) it looks and feels fine, so who knows why I haven't worn it, other than I've spent most of the year wearing old crap for house-renovating instead of nice things.

 The top looks great with my festive pyjama bottoms! 😀

Last month, in a bid to get back into sewing I tackled my dreaded mending and alteration pile. It allowed me to reacquaint myself with my machine and complete manageable, bite-sized projects as I didn't have the headspace to create items from scratch or deal with multiple pattern alterations.

I started with altering the sleeves and neckline of a tunic dress for my Mum, (which she loved) then I did a few simple, rewarding tasks: sewing up a hole in my mustard tights (which I had set aside at least two years ago), replacing a missing button from a favourite coat and dyeing a faded and unloved pair of black jeans (set aside over 5 years ago!) a much nicer, more wearable shade of plum.

Spurred on by my small mending successes, I moved onto more exciting alterations. My first was turning a rarely worn pair of handmade tights into funky exercise/yoga leggings by chopping off the feet and sewing on cuffs. As much as I flipping loved the look of the tights and their cool construction, I found I never reached for them as I didn't like the feeling of the lycra fabric over my feet. These will definitely receive more wear as leggings. Stretches are much more exciting to do with jazzy looking legs.

My last project was a complete refashion: turning a rarely worn circle skirt into a pair of cute dance shorts! As cute as the circle skirt was, I never felt it was a flattering shape on me so it only got worn a handful of times. The fabric will see far more wear as a pair of cute shorts for my dance classes. I like that I'll be dancing (well, moving around in a vaguely coordinated manner) with my butt covered in macarons.

To make the shorts I traced around the upper portion of a pair of shop-bought leggings to make pattern pieces and cut out a new waistband. Luckily everything easily fitted within the skirt fabric. The only thing that I found difficult was finding a suitable way to hem the legs as a standard zig zag did not provide enough stretch for my enormous, muscular?, thighs. In the end I used a fancy stretch stitch setting on my sewing machine which worked great.

All in all, a pretty successful month of mending!

This year in the online sewing community I've noticed that there has been a lot of chat about sustainability: not over-buying fabric, buying ethically, using up or recycling scraps, altering, mending or refashioning existing items, not replacing fast fashion with fast sewing etc. It has been an interesting topic to ponder, especially since I've spent the majority of the year away from my sewing machine.

It's great to see these topics being discussed, however I do find it odd that it's perhaps being presented as a new way of thinking, or dare I say another trend/fad, when a lot of it is surely common practise in the first place? It is to me anyway. I've always tried to look after my clothes and mend items if possible (to the extent that some pieces in my wardrobe are 10-15 years old and still going strong), donate what I don't need or use and work hard on sewing items which will become well worn and loved in my wardrobe and not thrown out after 2 wears. Admittedly, the whole discussion of sustainability has made me think even harder about my choices, which is never a bad thing.

I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this sewing related naval gazing, but I thought I'd throw my thoughts out there for what it's worth. The only conclusion I can draw from it all is that I'm not comfortable with sewing for the sake of sewing and ending up with a ridiculously large collection of clothing when I already own more than enough clothes. However I do want to continue sewing as it's nice to have new things from time to time, especially when they're unique and tailored to me.

Unlike my sewing, my knitting output has remained fairly strong this year, mostly because it's something I can do whilst crashed out on the sofa. Since my last update in the summer I've knitted another pair of socks.....

...and I've loved wearing them. All my handknitted socks have received a lot of love this year. They're perfect for padding about the house in the evenings or making my toes extra cosy in my winter boots.

These socks, pictured above, were my first foray into knitting the magic loop method with circular needles. Although I like how portable it is (you don't have to worry about stitches falling off needles) and how much easier it is to try projects on mid progress, I'm still not convinced I like it more than working on dpns. There's something about shoving stitches back and forth along the needles which irks me. I'm going to continue using both methods though as it's fun to mix things up.

I've also knitted four hats this month! Three as Christmas presents and one for myself. 

A stripey ribbed hat for my eldest brother. It killed me not being able to put a jazzy pom pom on top but I know he wouldn't wear it if it had one. As much as all that 2x2 ribbing felt endlessly boring it did produce a lovely, comfy hat. I also learned how to knit jogless stripes with this hat.

Then I knitted hats for my other brother and his wife. They both like and suit wearing burgandy so I thought I'd make them not-quite-matchy-matchy, cute couple hats. The hat on the left is Miki by Atelier M on Ravelry (free pattern) with sparkly thread added to the pom pom for a bit of girly glamour and the hat on the right is the Close Cables Hat by Anna and Heidi Pickles on Ravelry (no longer free, sadly.) I added burnt orange yarn to the pom pom for a fun, speckled effect.

Lastly, my own festive hat! I'm not sure what prompted me to need a festive hat but the idea hit me one evening and I couldn't shake it off. I roughly made it up as I went along, following a chart for the star motif. It took a few attempts to figure out the decreases for the crown as it needed to come in quite sharp after the motif. It's quite gathered at the top as I still had a lot of stitches on the needles, but the hat is fairly slouchy so I think the soft gathers suit the style. My favourite thing though is the tassle. I've been desperate to knit myself a tassle hat ever since I knit that toddler hat at the beginning of the year!

And that's me signing out for 2018. Thanks for reading and continuing to follow my creative ventures. Wishing you all the best for 2019. See you on the other side!

cinnamon sour cream loaf

Festive baking is in full swing on blogs at the moment and here I am posting a cake I made almost two months ago. Oh well.

However, I think this could easily be considered a festive bake since cinnamon is a warm, seasonal flavour. Just display the cake with a different tablecloth. 😄

Fun fact: I've had this fun, floral tablecloth since my first year at art school in Edinburgh (shockingly, over 10 years ago now.) My Mum found it in a second hand/vintage shop in the Grassmarket and it's by Mary Quant! 

Although the flavour of the cake was great I was disappointed by the texture. I wouldn't necessarily describe it as dense but it did have quite a tight crumb. I'm unsure whether this is correct for the recipe or if I was at fault. The mixture split slightly after I added the second egg so I likely lost some air in the batter when I combined everything. The raw cake batter tasted AMAZING though, so it may be worth trying again sometime.

The cinnamon-spiced cream cheese is also worthy of capital letters as it's FANTASTIC! Oh my, so good. Not necessarily a complaint, but the recipe produced rather a lot of icing. I'd say more than necessary for this size of loaf and you can see from my photos that I put on a good, thick layer. I used about half the quantity for this cake and the rest was used a few days later on a banana bread.

I also found the quantity of cinnamon sugar in the recipe somewhat excessive. However, it keeps well in a sealed container and it has added some festive flair to my morning porridge.

So is anybody actually prepared for Christmas because I'm certainly not. I've only bought two presents and have organised zero baking or handmade gifts which is unheard of for me. I've also only watched about three corny Christmas films so far. Disaster. I've been so wrapped up with trying to finish renovating my house that Christmas hasn't really entered my head. In the past few weeks the heating has been installed, floors have been laid, doors have been hung, all walls, ceilings and woodwork have been painted and curtain poles have gone up. Just the plumbing and rewiring to finish and the kitchen units to install. It's close!

Cinnamon sour cream loaf
Recipe from Primrose Bakery "Everyday" book by Martha Swift  

for the cake:
165g self-raising flour
1 1/2tsp ground cinnamon
150g softened butter, slightly salted
180g golden caster sugar
2 eggs, large
1/2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
120ml sour cream

cinnamon cream cheese icing:
50g butter, softened
100g cream cheese
225g icing sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

cinnamon sugar:
1 tbsp golden caster sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/180c/fan 160c and line a 900g loaf tin with greaseproof paper. In a large bowl sift together the flour and cinnamon, stir together and set aside. In another bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the first egg and beat well before adding the second egg and the vanilla extract. Mix again. Add half of the flour mixture and mix on a slow speed until everything is combined, then add half of the sour cream and mix until just combined. Repeat the previous step so all the flour and sour cream is incorporated. 

Pour the mixture into the lined tin and spread out evenly. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer/knife inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.

For the icing, put all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix until well combined. I start by mixing with a spoon before swapping to an electric mixer as it helps to minimise the icing sugar dust cloud. Beat the icing for about 1 minute until smooth. For the cinnamon sugar simply stir together the caster sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Spread the icing on top of the cooled sponge and sprinkle the cinnamon sponge on top.

Dad's 60th

My Dad turned 60 a few weeks ago and to mark the great occasion Mum and I created a cakey golf course in the shape of a 60. Perfect for golf-lovin' Dad.

No surprises for guessing the cake base, it's another Mary Berry plain sponge traybake. I baked two traybakes and used one for each number. Both were cut in half horizontally and sandwiched with my usual jam and butter icing before cutting to shape and covering with fondant.

The holes in the numbers were used to create a sand bunker and pond. I found it hilarious how excited people were about the "sand" in the bunker. Both adults and children were poking their fingers in it like it was magic dust, when in reality it was just mashed up Rich Tea biscuits. Haha.

As well as the sand bunker and pond we also made stripey fairway, a putting green, a cluster of trees and some rough. The trees were created by shaping fondant into cones and scoring them with a toothpick to give a leafy-ish texture. The rough was piped butter icing using a small star nozzle and I felt that extra bit of texture was the finishing touch for our golf course.

I'm really pleased with how this cake turned out. Who would have thought designing a golf course could be so much fun! My Dad was absolutely thrilled with it too and couldn't wait to share a photo of it on Facebook.

Lighting 60 candles was a mammoth task which required many helping hands. It was an impressive sight once the candles were all lit, although the amount of blue smoke in the kitchen after blowing out the candles was crazy! I'm amazed the fire alarm didn't go off.

And that concludes the family birthday baking for this year. Phew! I thought I wouldn't be able to face eating or baking any more cake after such a cake-filled month but I found myself wanting to bake again the following week, haha. You'd think I'd know myself by now, I never get fed up with cake!

30 and a load of cake

I turned thirty a few weeks ago. *Insert Edvard Munch's Scream painting face*

I think I hit the feeling-and-looking-physically-older phase a couple of years ago so I wasn't bothered about turning thirty. If anything, I feel much healthier and in better shape now than I was for the majority of my twenties. Also, the older I become the more socially acceptable it is for me to be myself i.e. an introverted granny-type who prefers staying home to knit than going out to party. Basically I'm growing into the old woman I've always been.

Last year there was a knitting theme to my presents, but this year it was homewares since my house is edging closer to becoming habitable. I'm guessing most women would be offended if they received a toaster, kettle and blender for their birthday rather than posh jewellery or a fancy holiday, but I was delighted. I love practical presents, especially if they're pretty. Also, they matched my cake which was a giant party ring.

My 1950s neapolitan kitchen dreams are slowly coming together.

As a side note, my Dad took practical presents to a completely new level. I am now the proud(?) owner of every conceivable cleaning fluid and a stack of washing up sponges. Nice.

My sister in law also turned thirty two days after me so we had a joint cake for our "fake birthday"/family dinner. Although we're good pals we are very different in our styles and tastes so Mum thought it would be fun to reflect that in our joint cake which was a big 3 and 0. For sis-in-law we made a super duper chocolate cake sandwiched with jam and chocolate butter icing and covered the top with loads of different chocolate treats. There were Toblerone chunks, Maltesers, Rolos, M&Ms and chopped up Mars Bar, Crunchie and Twix.

 SO. MUCH. CHOCOLATE.

The sides were decorated with segments of Terry's Chocolate Orange. I almost wish I had covered the sides as densely as the top, but at the same time leaving gaps made the cake easier to cut into slices.

For my Party Ring cake Mum baked 2 plain Victoria sponges, sliced them into 4 layers, sandwiched them together with jam and white chocolate butter icing and then covered the entire cake in pink fondant. I really loved the simplicity of the decoration, especially next to the chocolate cake which was so visually OTT.

I'm glad I didn't have all 30 candles on my cake as I barely had the lung capacity to blow out 15 in one go. That's partly because as soon as I started blowing out the candles my hair fell in front of my face and I thought I had set myself on fire. Always keeping things classy.

Naturally, I sampled both cakes. The chocolate one, as expected, was mega chocolatey but the sponge itself was very light so the overall cake didn't feel overwhelmingly heavy or rich. I used my favourite chocolate cake recipe for this cake, just in case you're curious and fancy trying it.

I don't know what it is about a plain sponge with jam, butter icing and fondant but it always hits the spot. It's hard to beat. Add in a bit of pink and some white chocolate then I'm even happier.

As I had an early fake birthday Mum thought I still needed a cake for my actual birthday. I certainly wasn't going to argue, so for cake number 2 Mum surprised me with a ballet slipper cake. Admittedly, it's the kind of cake usually made for little girls, but damn it I don't care. It's never too late to learn ballet and have your ballerina cake!

The week before my birthday I ordered my first leotard and ballet wrap skirt as a present to myself. Never did I think it was possible to feel so excited about exercise gear. My teacher is so chuffed that a few of us ladies are starting to wear leotards to class.

I love how the "ribbons" are arranged to create a 30; it's so subtle and clever. Also, check out the massive white chocolate Jazzies/Snowies around the cake! YUM.

As before, the cake was a plain sponge (Mary Berry's plain traybake recipe, I think) with jam and butter icing. Why change a good thing, right?

Next up is Dad's birthday cake. My family are all about birthdays in May and October! :D

Betty's rhubarb - a crumble and a tart

Dare I say it, but I think I can almost see a glimpse of light at the end of the house renovating tunnel. The demolishing stage felt neverending, but things are finally going back in. Plumbing  is underway, the rewiring is nearly finished and new insulation and plasterboard are going up. Plasterboard automatically makes the space look cleaner and brighter which is exciting.

There have been a few "oh my god, WHAT?!" discoveries and eyebrow raising moments in my six months of house-ownership, but thankfully they have been manageable and fixable without too much cost rather than devastating.

One of the more pleasant discoveries was finding rhubarb growing in the overgrown garden. I didn't expect to find anything edible growing there so it felt like a real treat. Thanks, Betty!

*Betty was the elderly lady who owned the house before me. We found a *lot* of her stockings tied round bits of trees when we were excavating the garden a couple of weeks ago. An elderly neighbour also told me she used to keep clothes in her microwave?! She sounds like quite a character!

As there wasn't a huge amount of rhubarb to use I baked a crumble and bulked it out with two eating apples. I also added a sprinkling of ginger and cinnamon since they pair well with rhubarb. The resulting crumble was incredibly tasty although perhaps a touch on the sweet side. I guessed the sugar quantity and underestimated how much sweetness the eating apples would add to the filling.

Lovely red filling! 

A few weeks ago I trimmed off more rhubarb with the intentions of making another crumble, but my Mum suggested a tart instead. After a raid of the fruit bowl I ended up making an apple, nectarine and rhubarb frangipane tart.

It was a very spur-of-the-moment decision to make a tart, so I used a roll of shop-bought shortcrust pastry from the freezer rather than make my own. Some may frown, but I am absolutely ok with the occasional baking shortcut, particularly when it comes to pastry... and custard powder. I have no shame.

Speaking of custard powder, this tart tasted even better the following day served with custard. Custard made from powder *and* shop bought pastry in one photo/pudding. Told you, no shame.

I definitely felt I achieved a better balance with the sweetness in this tart. I also liked the more fragrant, summery addition of vanilla and nectarine compared to my more autumnal flavoured crumble. My only disappointment with this tart was that it could have done with a few more minutes in the oven as I think there was a slightly underbaked bit of frangipane right next to the fruit layer. At least my pastry wasn't soggy. No soggy bottoms here!

On the whole though, as a spontaneous bake I was pretty pleased with my effort. It's also the first tart I've made in quite a few years. (Holy moly, last time was in 2012 if I don't count mini tarts I made in 2014. Seriously?!) Next time I'll have to be more organised and make my own pastry.

Rhubarb and apple crumble 
I recommend reducing the sugar quantity if you prefer a sharp rhubarb flavour.

fruit filling: 15oz (425g) red rhubarb, chopped into 1 inch chunks
3oz (85g)  caster sugar
2 eating apples, cored and chopped into similar sized chunks
sprinkling of ground cinnamon and ginger

crumble:
4oz (115g) butter (I use slightly salted)
6oz (175g) plain flour
2oz (55g) porridge oats
3oz (85g) soft brown sugar

Preheat oven to 190C/ Fan 170C/ Gas 5 and grease a pie dish with butter. Chop up the fruit for the filling and put into a saucepan along with the sugar and spices. Gently simmer on the hob for a few minutes until soft, but not pulpy. Pour the mixture into the pie dish.

For the crumble topping, rub together the butter and flour in a mixing bowl then mix in the porridge oats and sugar. Spoon the mixture on top of the fruit filling in the dish. Bake for 30 - 40 mins. Serve warm with custard or ice cream. Or both if you're feeling decadent!


Rhubarb, nectarine and apple frangipane tart.

fruit filling:
7oz (200g) rhubarb, chopped into 1 inch chunks
3 nectarines, chopped into similar sized chunks
2 eating apples, cored and chopped into similar sized chunks
a sprinkling of cinnamon (under 1/4tsp)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

one pack of ready roll shortcrust pastry (or make more own)

frangipane topping:
4oz (115g) caster sugar
4oz (115g) softened butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4oz (115g) ground almonds
1oz (28g) plain flour
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
a handful on flaked almonds for the topping

Requires an 8 inch (20cm) tart/flan tin.

If you're making your own shortcrust pastry, prepare that first. If you're using shop-bought, roll it out big enough to cover the base and sides of the tin. Press it into the tin (using a left over scrap of pastry to push it into the grooves/sides of the tin) and prick the base with a fork. Cover with tin foil and weigh down with baking beans to stop the pastry from puffing up in the oven. I also leave the edges hanging over the tin and trim them back after the tart comes out the oven. 

Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6, until you can see the pastry turning golden, then remove the foil and beans and put back in the oven for a further 2 minutes to help dry the pastry out. 

Whilst your pastry case is in the oven make the fruit filling. Chop all the fruit in similar sized chunks and put into a large saucepan along with the cinnamon and vanilla. Gently simmer on the hob for a few minutes until everything has softened. Leave to cool whilst you make the frangipane topping.

Turn the oven temperature down to 180C/Fan 160/Gas 4. For the frangipane, beat together the sugar and butter with a mixer for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add in the ground almonds, flour and vanilla extract and mix until everything is fully combined.

Pour the cooled fruit filling in the base of the tart case, followed by the frangipane mixture, which may need a bit of coaxing over the fruit filling with a palette knife as it's a stiffer mixture. Make sure the frangipane fully covers the fruit filling. Sprinkle a handful of flaked almonds over the top. 

Bake in the oven for at around 35 minutes until golden on top and the frangipane is firm to touch. (I forgot to write down how long it was in the oven for, but it was definitely over 30 minutes so keep an eye on it after half an hour),  Serve warm, but not hot, or completely cool. Both are delicious. Cream, ice-cream or custard make lovely accompaniments.

knitting review: 2018 so far

As we're now over half way through 2018 (whaaaaaat?) I thought I'd do a review of my knitted projects. I have managed to knit something every month so far this year except from June which is pretty good going for me. Here's what I have been making:

January - Dr Who Fair Isle mittens

One of my best pals turned 30 in January and after seeing how much she admired my handknitted fingerless mitts at Christmas I thought I'd make her a special pair of mittens. I searched for suitable patterns on Ravelry, mostly looking for Fair Isle type patterns, then stumbled across the (free!) Whovian Mitten pattern and was like "wooahhhh, I could make her dream mittens: Fair Isle meets Dr Who."

I redrew the chart to incorporate Fair Isle patterns and made a few fit modifications along the way which I've written about on my Ravelry page. I was worried the finished mittens might not fit well as I found them quite tight and short (although admittedly I have quite large hands) but luckily my friend has much neater hands and fingers and assured me that they fit her well. Phew!

February: baby and toddler knits

In February, the same week I got my house keys and my brother got married, my friends had their second child, another little boy, so naturally I felt compelled to knit cute baby and toddler presents. The baby hat pattern is Sirdar 4806 garter stitch hat and the booties are Stylecraft 4821.

I initially knitted the hat in the round on dpns as a sneaky ploy to avoid seaming but the yarn bagged at the corners so the hat looked awful - serves me right for trying to be a smart arse. Weirdly I only get this bagging problem when I use acrylic mix yarn. After sulking for a day the hat got unravelled, reknitted flat as instructed and then I finally taught myself how to do mattress stitch from YouTube tutorials. It isn't particarly difficult to do and it gives such a smart, flawless finish so I have no idea why I have been avoiding it like the plague. Now I feel embarrassed about how badly I seamed my early knitted items, haha! 

With my newfound confidence in seaming I happily went ahead with the toddler hat, the Pointed Pull On Hat, also from Sirdar 4806 pattern and knitted flat. Is it wrong that I want a bigger version for myself, complete with tassel? It's so cute! I also really liked the wool for this hat, Sirdar Snuggly Crofter Baby Fair Isle Effect DK. It was so soft and the self-striping effect made it fun to knit. 

March: Hermione Hedgehog socks

It appears every knitter and their Mum/dog/cat/child online has knitted Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder... and now I'm one of them. For these socks I used my first skein of indi-dyed yarn: Hedgehog Fibres Sock yarn in the colourway Genie. I’m not normally drawn to neon colours but fell in love with the bright, highlighter pen style speckles when I saw it in a yarn shop in Edinburgh before Christmas.

I cast on the first sock on Christmas Day and finished it just before New Year but sadly it felt too tight. The gauge was correct so it must just be my wide, deep feet. It didn't feel unbearable, but uncomfortable enough to know I wouldn’t enjoy wearing it and that felt like a waste of effort and yarn. I was so grumpy with the project that it got stuffed in a bag and I knitted all of the projects above before coming back to it. Eventually the guilt got to me and I unravelled the sock and started again on bigger needles. 

It felt like a major pain in the arse knitting 3 socks in order to have a pair but it was worth it. My feet no longer feel suffocated and the knitted "fabric" (for want of a better word?) also feels nicer at a looser gauge. It felt really stiff on the (original) 2.25mm needles. The socks are perhaps slightly on the bigger, roomier side but definitely preferable to tight, suffocating socks.

In terms of the sock pattern, I love the textured stitch and how the heel looks so I can see myself using both again. In terms of the yarn, I have mixed feelings. The finished socks are gloriously soft and the colours are gorgeous, however I found this merino/nylon mix yarn to be a slippy, splitty, pain in the arse to knit. I can't say I'm keen to work with it again. It's a shame, but these things happen. It's all part of the learning experience.

April: my first shawl

As well as buying the Hedgehog Fibres skein when I was in Edinburgh, I also bought a skein of Malabrigo Sock in the 866 Arco Iris colourway. To say I was besotted with this skein is a complete understatement. I fell hard for the mix of pink-purples and flecks of yellow and green. It's a good job I was shopping with my best friend who is fully aware of my eccentricities as I spent the rest of the day petting the skein and squealing with delight. We also went to Cuckoos Bakery for cupcakes, to a fabric shop where I bought some ribbon and to the Christmas market in the evening to ride the carousel. BEST DAY EVER.

After another month's petting I decided to turn the yarn into a Nurmilintu shawl, a free pattern by Heidi Alander on Ravelry. This was my first time knitting a shawl and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The pattern is a satisfying combination of mindless garter stitch with enough lace for a bit of interest without being overly taxing.

I genuinely could not be happier with how this shawl turned out. The colours knitted up beautifully and I’m delighted to have created something I absolutely love from this yarn as it felt so special. I now understand why people go nuts for Malabrigo yarn!

Unlike the Hedgehog Fibres yarn I've found the Malabrigo (100% superwash Merino) an absolute joy to knit and wear. In fact I was so pleased with this shawl that I didn't get around to washing and blocking it for 3 months. I cast it off one morning and started wearing it... then kept wearing it! Oops, shame on me.

I feel bad for wearing it unblocked for so long as it looks *SO* much nicer for being washed and blocked. It completely transformed the shawl! The yarn bloomed and opened up the lace sections beautifully. It was well worth pinning out the picot edge too as it makes such a pretty, delicate detail. I love how intricate and fiddly it looks but it's relatively simple to achieve as most of the work is in the blocking/pinning.

May- early June: self-striping socks 

My Mum started knitting a pair of socks in May and eventually I got sock-envy and had to cast on a pair too. I had bought a ball of Stylecraft's Head over Heels yarn in the colourway Everest earlier in the year and it came with a sock pattern so I went with that.

I initially tried knitting these with the magic loop method but found it incredibly annoying having to shove my stitches back and forth along the cable and needle, especially since they kept catching at the join. I suspected my cheap Pony needles were the main problem as they have a fairly thick, inflexible cable so I unravelled and went back to knitting on dpns.

Other than changing the toe I followed the pattern and I'm pleased with how they turned out. The colours look great and the self-striping yarn made the socks rather addictive to knit. I'd be knitting late at night (usually whilst watching old episodes of Taggart, A Touch of Frost or X-Files) and find myself thinking "ooh, just one more band of stripes" before heading to bed.

I really like the effect of the twisted rib on the cuff/leg and I find the fit comfortable. I've discovered that I prefer the fit of a 60 stitch sock to a 64 stitch when I'm knitting with 2.75mm needles. 64 is fine for slouchy bedsocks but it's nice to have a slightly neater fitting pair.

July: another Nurmilintu shawl

Another one of my best pals turned 30 and I felt she was also worthy of a lovely handmade present. Given how much I love my Nurmilintu shawl in Malabrigo yarn I thought she might like one too. This time I picked a lovely deep blue shade called "Impressionist Sky."

I knitted this shawl at a slightly slacker tension compared to my first one, as I think I knitted mine slightly tighter than usual for some reason, which resulted in a slightly bigger, airier shawl. I was so pleased with how this shawl turned out and almost felt reluctant to let it go but I know it has gone to a good home.

I genuinely cannot get over how much I love lacework, it's just so pretty. I often think knitters either fall into cable or lace camps and I'm definitely team lace. I'd be interested to hear how other fellow knitters feel, which camp do you fall in?

I also can't believe we're entering August tomorrow. Crazy! I've got my next knitting project lined up: another pair of socks in Stylecraft's Head over Heels self-striping yarn. However this time I'm going to try my newly purchased Knit-Pro cable needles to have a second attempt at knitting in magic loop. I'm open to being a magic loop convert, but so far I'm still feeling very much in the DPN camp. We'll see!