Sweet Chilli sausage rolls

At this time of year we have a Yule feast, on or around Yule, (winter solstice).
As Oliver likes sweet chilli sausages I thought I would try to make sweet chilli sausage rolls.
Everywhere I looked there was no sausagemeat....plain....on sale. The butcher who makes the sweet chilli sausages was not around to place an order for the meat.
So....I ended up making my own./
I bought a pack of good quality plain pork sausages...squeezed the sausage meat out into a bowl...added a generous helping of sweet chilli sauce to the sausagemeat...however..the result was a little damp...so I added some sage and onion stuffing mix until the mixture was drier. I then made the sausage rolls.
I did put a little too much sausage meat in the sausage rolls..as I got some sausage "un-rolls", but the desired effect was achieved and they all disappeared.
I'm very happy with my experiment.

time consumming project coming soon

I have been making myself a knitted hoodie with cap sleeves. More when I post the photo of the finished piece.
I have been into Lancaster today. I bought lining to make out of some fabric I found in my stash...it being so long since I looked in the place where this fabric was. It is a very heavy woolen fabric, so when I make it into a skirt will have to have a lining fixed into the garment......You don't use that heavy a fabric and leave it raw on the inside!...Or do you?
I also found a very interesting "knitted fabric"....not sure what I will do with that yet, but a photo of it...before any sewing takes place in the next post here.

Almost finished

I have been knitting myself a cap sleeved hooded cardigan from The Knitter magazine. I have almost finished the hood, and will soon be knitting the font bands, pockets bands and sleeve bands.
So.....I have been looking for suitable buttons.
As yet I haven't found any, apart from the ones which are used on the pattern, but at almost £7/button, that is more than a little steep.
It has crossed my mind that making my own buttons might be the best way. That way I can make them exactly how I want them, if they turn out right.
I think I will give it a go, after all, I have fimo and will not be loosing anything but my time trying to make some buttons.

So that's what has been taking me all month!

I have just finished a jumper or my special friend, and a random baby blanket. The jumper is knitted in Stylecraft Signature Chunky. A beautiful yarn to work with, but due to it's loose spun nature, it can be difficult to cast on with and sew up with For both I had to keep stopping to re-spin the yarn to prevent breakages. But as I say the finished garment is beautifully soft and light. The colour, in case it hasn't photographed well is an olive-ish green with brown flecks.
The baby blanket is from the Baby and Toddler special that was given away with the last issue of Simply Knitting. The next issue being due out tomorrow. I did find one fault with the pattern though, and that was that they said the wool used came in 200g balls, it doesn't, they are 100g balls, and you use less than a quarter of the third 100g ball. I am going to e-mail them about this. Oh, and the yarn used for the blanket is called Magi-knit and it does work up as shown. The blanket is knitted in squares, no more than 21 sts wide/ time, each square is then shaped by decreasing at the centre, down to one stitch, then you pick up stitches along one edge of the just worked square, and casting on the rest, for the first row. After the blanket is 10 squares wide, or how ever many wide you want it, you cast off and start the next row starting on top of the first square worked. I think the method of working makes it an ideal project when you don't have much time to spare, as each square takes around 15- 30 minutes depending on how fast you knit, so you could just work one square/day if that is all you had time for.

Yet more baby jackets and other stuff

From the top, we have the last of the smaller size baby jackets I have been making, it is in lilac and white, although Wendy call it Periminkle. The one below is the next size with the yarns reversed. I have also done a pink and white one. The striped baby cap was just using up some yarn from my stash.
Next we have a sunhat for the baby across the road. Her Mum had looked for small size baby hats in cotton, but could only find hats for boys. I am quite proud of that hat, as I didn't have a pattern, and it fitted perfectly.
The last is a cushion cover I made for Becki, Edwin's girlfriend. It is a simple pillowcase type cover, but when you have a pattern so busy you don't need to put frills and flourishes on.

Been busy!

I've been really busy knitting of late.
Will post an up-date tomorrow

Baby jackets

After knitting all those hats, see previous post. I started knitting baby jackets.
There were three of the sailor type ones, but I have given the pink and white one to a neighbour , she had her baby, a girl, called Lena, on Friday morning. The ballet style one is for a work colleague, she's also just had a baby girl. I am in the process of knitting a fourth sailor style jacket in lilac with white. Once they are done I will be knitting the same again, only in a larger size, but reversing the colours. So they will be predominantly white, with coloured highlights in the rib.
Oh! and two of the baby hats have gone to Lena, a "flower pot" one and a "daisy" one.
The sailor jackets are from a pattern that appeared this time last year in "The Knitter" magazine.

Lots of baby stuff

Since finishing Oliver's Jumper I have made two baby jackets and several hats from Itty Bitty Hats. I am currently knitting some more baby coats, as I know so many friends who are expecting at the moment. One had their baby, a boy, on 27th May, the multi coloured jacket and wee willie winkie hats are for him, the other hats are for babies yet to be born. Who knows, after all the baby knitting I might get the waterfall cardigan for me made?
The other baby jacket was made for a colleague's newborn son, who arrived late March.

In praise of Bamboo needles.

A while back I bought myself a set of bamboo knitting needles. Since then I have rarely used my older metal and plastic ones.
Last night, I decided to start a baby jacket in my room. I couldn't be bothered to go downstairs and get my bamboo needles, so I used my older needles! I did think it was just hype that bamboo needles are better to knit with if you have arthritis in your joints.....BUT....now I know better!
Metal needles cause my hands to ache after only knitting for around 30 minutes, whereas....if using bamboo needles, I can sit and knit for hours before my hands start to ache and cramp.
Give me Bamboo needles over metal any day.
I have not tried the more expensive rosewood needles as yet, but hope the birthday fairy will be kind and buy me a pair of 4mm ones

A cross stitch finish

I started this ages ago, and it became a UFO, (unfinished object,) as projects sometimes do, for various reasons. However, I was determined to finish it , and I have. I have now given it away to the person it was for.

Not much more to do

I have been working on a cross-stitch picture as well lately. It is around 3 years since I started, yet it became a UFO (unfinished object,) for several reasons. however, I decided that it was about time I finished it up. Today I finished putting all the cross-stitches in it, there is only the back stitching to do, which should be done by the end of the week. The picture shows progress as to last evening.

Recent finishes and a WIP

I have now finished Oliver's jumper, it is a little longer than the pattern states, as Oliver is quite tall, so needs the extra length.
I have also made a hat from Itty Bitty Hats for a colleague at work who is expecting a baby very soon.
There is also a photo of my current WIP. It's design 83 from UKHKA. The picture on the pattern looks like a bramble stitch, but is actually a woven stitch, using C4F and C4B one after the other on right side rows, the wrong side rows being purl. It is creating quite a firm fabric.

wooly guitar

I won't show you a picture of this..as it is a disaster....back to the drawing board!

A helping "item"

I don't know how many people are constantly frustrated by the newer way of winding yarn. Instead of the traditional "ball" of wool...some yarn manufacturers wind their yarn in "doughnut" balls. These look great, but tend to collapse as soon as you start using them. It's fine if their aren't many yards on the ball...but sometimes it gets tangled. This really frustrates me, anyway...I have come up with a way of ensuring the yarn comes off easily. I pop the doughnut ball over a kitchen roll holder, before taking the ball band off, then the yarn comes off smoothly and the ball is able to rotate freely as you pull it. It takes out having to constantly detangle your yarn.

Shelterbox Scarf finish

Yay!!!
I have finished this, and thoroughly enjoyed knitting it.
It was my first ever time of knitting reversible cable. And I will say..that if you are confident with cables, DON'T be afraid of reversible cables.
I love the finished garment. I used 4 and a bit balls of Wendy Mode DK, colour Azure....so it worked out reasonable...Just shows you don't need to use expensive yarn. The yarn I used is very soft and bouncy. I am taking it with me to work tomorrow as a colleague would like to see the finished garment.
Thanks again to Anni at Confessions of a Yarn Addict...for letting me test her pattern. It was an absolute pleasure.

Shelterbox scarf

I'm working on this at the moment.
I have got my head around the pattern..and the scarf is growing daily. Last measurement tonight was 75 cm...just less than half the required finished length!
I haven't been very well..and all the other nights this week I have been in bed by 10pm..tomorrow/Thursday, is my day off this week..so I should get some more done.
Anyway...a progress piccy!
The pattern is from confessions of a yarn addict
So far I have used...almost two balls of Mode DK in azure.

20th March.
There are now almost 4 balls of wool in the scarf, and I only have another 15cm....6 inches in old money....to go before I have finished. Next photo when I have finished it.

Shelter box scarf pattern test

I love this pattern, and love the product that is coming from my needles!
If you want to see what I am knitting..visit Confessions of a Yarn Addict..on blogger

On top of everything else.

Besides all the projects I have in waiting....I intend to try three things this year. One I have done on a small scale. That being lace knitting...but as Blue brought me a skein of laceweight from home last time she came...and it has 1600m or so on it....I think tiz only right I make something beautiful from it.
Another thing I want to have a go at, and have never done before is entrelac knitting. I am currently waiting for a book on entrelac, and will try small swatches before tackling a project in it.
I also wanted to try reversible knitting. I feel certain I'll be ok with it, and am about to start knitting a sample scarf for a designer. Watch this space for that one, as I am casting on this afternoon.
I would love to find some time to knit some socks as well. I have never knitted socks before, but I have used sock wool, fine needles and can knit in the round, so I am hoping making socks will not be such a giant step.

Loads of catch up on Fidgetting.

since last August/September, I have been knitting but just haven't posted here much.
What have I been up to? Well, I have made three large projects and am well into the fourth. I made a cotton tunic type jumper for a colleague at work, a shawl-neck jumper in a beautiful bright aqua blue for Edwin, a jacket from a Rowan purelife booklet for Edwin and am currently knitting a jumper for Oliver from the purelife book. Pictures of the tunic and jacket are shown. I also made two hooded jumpers and sent them to Lithuania for my someone special's, friend's children. Those were just plain hooded jumpers with a couple of pockets on the front, a small one in blue for a little boy, and a bigger one in pink for a 7 year old girl. I made a third one of these hooded jumpers for John's daughter, Skye. (John is Samantha's, my daughter, boyfriend.) That one was in purple.
Gosh! I've done much more than I thought I had, and I haven't mentioned any small projects yet!
I made a beret for my Mum for Yule, another beret that I'm not too happy with, I like the pattern, just don't like the yarn I used.(That is the multi coloured beret pictured.
I've also made two upside daisy hats from Itty Bitty Hats, and Cherry-O from the same book. A pair of finger tip-less gloves for Oliver and a hat, Valery, from Hip Knit Hats for me. (That is the one in cream)
I've got loads more planned to do this year. I might even make something larger than a hat for myself!
Unfotunately I haven't photograped everything I have made, but I have started keeping a notebook, saying what I have made, when, and for who, and when it was finished. And most of the time I remember to write in it.

Signature Chunky by Stylecraft

This a beautiful yarn to knit with.
However, the thumb method of casting on twists the yarn the "wrong" way...making thumb cat on tricky.
When I next use this yarn....on my very next project, as I love how it knits up...I will be using a different method of casting on.