Zigzag Cowl by Mandy Powers
4.5mm circs
Rowan DK Soft and Rowanspun 4ply

A pretty, quick and snuggly gift for a dear friend back home.

I only got to do two pattern repeats rather than the three, so I was lucky I only just made it with a few inches of the DK Soft to spare for sewing up.

I’d like to make one for myself but I’ve got to get a move on with some secret baby knitting first!

Amy Karol’s (aka. Angry Chicken’s) Chocolate Cake
from her recipe cheat sheet
3 x 10″ chocolate cakes stacked with butter cream icing

Considering Amy’s recipe uses american measurements, it turned out fine. I made two batches in total as I knew I’d need 3 cakes to stack. The balance of the mixture went a long way. It made 20 regular size cupcakes, 12 mini cupcakes and 4 texan muffins. I think I was also economical with the sugar as well. Maybe using 2/3 of what the recipe calls for.

It was light, delicious and the perfect end to our barbecue.

A simple gathered top for Miss A’s second birthday. Bizarrly, we were watching the final show in the F-Word series last week and Graham Norton was wearing a shirt in the same Liberty fabric.

You can also see the decking is finished. Hoo-bloody-ray!

See you in September.

You know when you’ve got a deadline and you’re worried you won’t get things finished in time………..and you’ve complained to DH that you’ll need weekend-baby-free time in order to do such finishing……….there’s always a distraction. Just to set me back a few more hours.

Little tote bag for: a drink, teddy, a book and a snack. A little girl needs a smart bag at a wedding.

Vintage Wine Cardigan
from a vintage Robin pattern
fits chest 48 cms so 6-9 months or thereabouts
4mm vintage needles
3 balls King Cole Merino Blend DK #32 Wine

The pattern is from my collection of vintage knitting patterns. I would like to work this up larger for my little girl in the same colour. It really suits her skin tone. I love the yarn and will use it again, soft with great stitch definition and machine washable. Now we’ve lost Jaeger….this is a good alternative to Matchmaker Merino. I just scraped in with nothing to spare on this one. A fiddly bit of sewing up, but I like that part. Maybe next time I’ll work it in one piece to the armholes.

Mods: I omitted a button and the filet ribbon around the neck, not practical or safe! Oh, and I compensated by adding extra stitches to the seam edges so the pattern appeared seamless on the side seams.

Here are the socks I made for my mother for her birthday/mother’s day. The pattern is so easy to memorise and they look fabulous on. Shame my hooves were too large to model them for you. A must-knit pattern for any sock knitters out there.

Child’s First Sock in Shell
Knitting Vintage Socks Nancy Bush
2.25mm circs magic loop

Knitted bolero and fabric = wedding outfit for the little miss

Now I need to agonise over tights or socks……..

Gifted to me from my cousin in the US. Made by me 10 years ago. I love my family.

Simple tie top dress
One of my aunt’s patterns (probably vintage Butterick or something similar)