Sock, Slipper and a cake

I have spent all morning painting kitchen cupboards, but once I had cleared up all my mess I stopped for a cup of tea and a slice of cake. Yesterday it was Huffle's birthday and I made him a cake, using a new Canadian Recipe book I bought for myself. (Since our move to Canada just over one year ago, my baking has suffered, ingredients, temperature, ovens etc etc). Anyway, this one worked out beautifully.

I will put the recipe on at the end. I followed it very carefully. It actually made a big two tiered sponge and seven cup cakes.

Then, after I ate my hard earned piece of cake, I sewed on my Pom-Pom onto my slippers. Taa daaaa

Perfect for wearing when swiffing or sweeping, keeps the floor nice and clean. Ha ha ha.

Then I thought, well, while I'm on a finishing mood, I will tackle that sock and watch the video. So, Taa daaaa.

Not the most attractive photo but it's fits perfectly.

So now I am off to finish my Angry Bird and who knows, maybe I will start on Sock No2 - after all the first one only took five months!

 

Golden Yellow Cake

Oven 350*F. Butter and flour two 8" round pans.

Combine 3 cups All Purpose Flour, 4 Teaspoons Baking Poweder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and mix thoroughly.

Cream 1/2 lb unsalted butter and 2 cups sugar. Add 4 egg yolks and beat well. Beat in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

Gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with milk taken from 1 cup whole milk on low speed until blended. Set aside.

Beat the 4 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the the cake batter with a spatula.

Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and 7-8 cup cake cases. Bake for 20-30 mins.

Once cool, Add buttercream and jam and layer - liberally sprinkle with icing sugar. EAT.

 

 

 

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WOYWW #195 - Angry Toes

It's Wednesday. I am joining in with What's on your workdesk Wednesday. I do not have a desk yet (renovating) so I have taken over the Kitchen Table.

IPad, watching How I met your Mother. Angry Pig and his friend Angry Bird. Did you know that the Red Bird is based on the Cardinal (which is prevalent here in North America?) - just need to add some eyebrows and another eye.

I don't know if you can see something sneaking out of the top of the brown bag at the back, but it is the Chocolate that sat on my desk for so many weeks after Christmas, Smallest and I ate most of it last Friday - we were desperate.

My mug of tea. My sock with nearly a toe. Just need to do the Kitchener Graft (I have to watch a video for this which Brenda kindly sent to me). I'm working on it Brenda, honestly! The pile of wool to the right is my Pom-Pom I making for my Nanny Slippers (remember them? I made them when Moo was here and that was Dec/Jan). Still I can get on with it now........ And because My craft stuff is in places I can't always reach......

....I have taken over the Living Room Cabinet Drawer and stashed a load of wool, needles, hooks etc here - what a mess!

For those following the Loft Renovations...........

Huffle and I painted it this weekend - Natural Wicker. Two rows of the floor have been put down. The stair banister and spindles have been added, the pot light covers are on and the window surrounds are in. Not much longer........... In answer to some questions last week. The loft is half a guest room and half my craft room. There will not be any permanent shelving put in as we want the room to evolve with our family so it could become..... Who knows????

 

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WOYWW #194 - Late Again

Once again I am late. I have to admit, I forgot. What with Family Day being on Monday and everyone being at home. Oh well, I am here now. Unfortunately, my desk isn't here. It is currently dusty, dirty and full of what looks like concrete stuck in lumps all over it. My poor 100+ year old original pine farmhouse table.

I am joining in, if you haven't guessed yet, with Julia for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday.

So, today, my desk is my bed.

Sewing box and crochet hook sticking out. I love this one. It is aluminium and red. My Knitting Bag with some Mollie Makes Mags in and my Nanny Slippers still awaiting a Pom Pom - however, I know my Pom-Pom maker is in the shop so I just have to go and pick it up.

Knitting Book to help me decipher stitches. A present I made for a friend. An Angry Bird, just awaiting a beak and eyes - in all my stash of wool, I can't find a small bit of yellowy gold! Angry Birds Pig, which is finished and waiting to be wrapped for Smallest's birthday.

And last but not least, my sock. It was PA Day last Friday so I had two children at home and couldn't go knitting - we went to the cinema instead. I struggled to understand how to finish the toe off - something about grafting. I popped into the shop where I knit and she suggested I come in on this Friday - now I have Smallest with me but he promised he would be good and quiet as long as I give him my phone to play with.

For those that are interested, the loft work is going well. Here is a 'so far' picture.

Before this it was pink insulation wadding and plastic sheets. NICE!

 

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Angry Pig

All weekend I have been working hard at crocheting a pig from Angry Birds for Smallest for his birthday.

I'm not sure the colour is quite right, but I'm very happy with how it turned out.

I used the pattern from Nerdigurumi's Blog. It was very easy to read and a great pattern to follow.

He is about 6" high and round. I even learnt a new stitch by following a video tutorial. I can now make a stitch that makes a flat edge. COOL. She has loa of free patterns on there. Go and have a peek.

I am working on the Red Angry Bird now. I'll show you when I finish.

 

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Sleepy Sheep, coffee and Banana Bread

I finished my Sleepy Sheep and have already had requests for the pattern. I found it here on the very talented Harugurumi's blog.

So here he is.

Smallest loving him

Always sleeping

As usual I have to put him in various poses. He was a dream to crochet and my Smallest is not very nappy to let him go. Guess I might be making more of these.

Other things I have finished....

I started this yesterday evening after dinner and finished it just now. It is crocheted and the pattern came from a Mollie Makes Magazine. It is a present for a cafetiere drinking friend. "The Coffee Eh?" Is because she is a frequent visitor to Canada and they end everything with eh here.

I made Banana Choclate Loaf twice this week. Always have to use up those bananas when they are past their best.

I ran out of chocolate on this one so raided the boys chocolate stash from Christmas. White Choclate buttons and Herseys bar went into this one and possibly even a rogue Choclate coin. It was yummy though.

Off to make a Valentines Cake now.........

P.s. I did work on my sock last night too. The toe is starting to round off. Wahooo.

 

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Untitled

 

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Woyww#193 - sorry to disappoint

It's Wednesday - and again I didn't realise it was a Wednesday until I received a notification that Brenda had posted a WOYWW. I did think about not taking part this week as we are in the middle of Loft Renovations and that is where my crafts live. But yesterday I worked hard on trying to get my sleeping sheep finished.

The reason I 'disappoint you', is because I haven't finished my sock and I promised last week. Now I have a good reason. It snowed here a lot last Friday which meant I couldn't get my car out, so couldn't go to my knitting group. I sat and did about four rows last night in front of Downton Abbey but then realised I had done the four rows wrong and spent the rest of the night undoing and dropping stitches. So I have actually left it in almost the same state it was in last week. I will tackle it again now as I think I know where I went wrong.

In the meantime I have been crocheting a Sleepy Sheep. He is nearly finished and is off to England for a friend's birthday. He is missing an ear and a leg (this is becoming my trademark) and I am hoping to finish this today also.

Before I moved all my craft stuff away from the loft, I rescued all my Mollie MakesMagazines and piled them up in the kitchen and I flick through them at every opportunity. Some of them haven't even been opened. At the moment I am reading about a woman who makes patchwork wooly blankets out of old jumpers. Loving this and would love to have a go.

I'm a bit late posting this today and know (without Brenda's help) that I will be right down the bottom of the list, but at least I joined in. I have my coffee and a piece of hot buttered toast and I am now off to check other desks around the world courtesy of Julia. Oh EDIT: smallest has just informed me that we are going to watch Mickeys Twice Upon Christmas (well it is still snowy).

 

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Winner Winner

Yay, I won a giveaway. To be honest, I didn't even realise I had entered one till I had won. But how happy am I?

I have been a member of Instagram (Instagram name is stuandsamhall) for a while now. In fact I love it. I don't follow many people and I don't have that many follow me but it is a great place to see people's fabulous photography and amazing makes. I came across Apple Crisp on somebody else's Instagram page (sorry, can't credit that person because I can't remember who it was), however I started following AppleCrisp because I liked the things she made.

Lo and behold, she had a giveaway and her son chose me.

And this is what I won. A lovely Vintage fabric lavender filled heart - smells gorgeous. Some vintage covered buttons (makes me want to knit or crochet something fabulous to put them on). A gorgeous owl key ring (love owls). How lovely and it was all beautifully packaged - didn't get a chance to photograph it as the boys tore it apart so quickly. Go and have a look at her blog. Www.applecrisp.co.uk. Thank you Christina for my gorgeousness.

 

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WOYWW #192 - hearts, nimps and a limp!

Wednesday - day to show your desk as per woyww hostess Julia.

IPad with Radio One playing over the Internet. My resident Monkies (last week someone thought one was a mouse!). Slippers and slippers pattern (attempting to post pattern). Zentangle. Lovely colourful crochet hooks. Chocolate, sock (actually been working on it today, planning on this being finished by next Wednesday - ha ha ha ha, we'll see!).

My ideas book with a pattern for hearts and some I made today with different hooks and different wool. I found a fabulous pattern that is really easy to follow, plus a video which you can find here.

Some material that I am making into Bunting for Smallest's room. It is Batman material and I found it at the Thrifty shop.

I finished my wrist warmers and have been warming my wrists with them. I still haven't made the Pom-Pom for my slippers - should be going to my knitting group this Friday so hopefully will finish it there.

At Christmas I was busy trying to finish the Imps from AnnaboosHouse for my two little Imps. I finished one and told Small he was an Imp. He heard "this is a Nimp". Hence he calls him Nimpy. Yesterday we realised one of his legs is shorter than the other (Nimpy not Small) so we now call him Limpy Nimpy.

Small sleeps with him and he already looks loved and worn!

The other Imp I'm afraid only has one leg. (I wanted to finish but ran out of time and now Smallest won't let me - he loves him as he is). His name is Army Man because his leg was cut off by a sword in a battle (Smallest's words). Bless.

Here are some more hearts I made but sent them as a Christmas Present.

I put the paperclip in to show how teeny tiny the smallest heart was. I used embroidery thread and a very small hook.

 

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