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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Thursday's Thumbs

I have finished my Wrist Warmers

Can you see the owl? I didn't want to add the buttons for eyes because I wanted them to look a little more grown-up.

....and I am very pleased with myself because the pattern said "....and for the left arm, just reverse the pattern". WHAT. HOW DO YOU DO THAT when there is all that cable and stuff? Well I winged it and I think I did okay!

I especially liked doing the rib. It was different and a stitch I haven't done before, but it does look very effective and is so very warm. Believe me, we need the warm here some wintry days.

Maybe I will get to finish some other things now.

 

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WOYWW #191 - thumbless, toeless, Pom-pomless....

Hello WOYWWers. Welcome to my desk and everyone else's all around the globe.

Starting at the front and working around the desk in a roundabout way.....

Still that same chocolate (how have I resisted?) well if I am very honest, I haven't spent much time up here so it's easy to forget it's there! My sock, still trying to get to that elusive toe! Bamboo needles put away as I have nearly finished my Wrist Warmer, just a thumb needs adding. Some very old bobbins I picked up in the Thrifty Store for just 50c (bargain). My Nanny Slippers awaiting a Pom-Pom, but I have an excuse for that. My knitting lady is ordering me one of those fabulous Pom-Pom makers (instant poms) and I haven't been able to get there as I have had children at home. Ha!

My book, Vogue Knitting which is great if I want a stitch explained. Propped against my sewing machine is a new pattern for wrist warmers (was that there last week?) and some wool to make them with. This week I broke one of my favourite mugs. I call it my Padstow mug but can't remember why now, I didn't get it from Padstow! I can't bear to throw it away so it is now a knitting needle holder as is my Pooh mug which is a crochet hook holder! There is a cup of tea in my Union Flag mug and then the wrist warmer I am finishing (the thumb!), with the pattern from the Mollie Makes Magazine.

Gorgeous case of shiny hooks, sewing box, monkeys, bit of zentangle and a rogue Pom-Pom that fell off Aunty A's slipper last week - she has gone home now to Windy London, UK where she is hibernating for a week till she goes off to Edinburgh. We are now visitor-less so maybe some more crafting or finishing will take place. Here's hoping.

Right, enough from me. Go and look at some more interesting desks and see what inspiration you can bring back for me.

 

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WOYWW #190 - two slippers, half a sock and a wrist warmer

Wednesday. Yes I did get a small reminder from Brenda (thank you) and here I am, showing you my desk as per the What's on your Workdesk Wednesday gang.

My desk.......

Oh look, the Chocolate is still there. My sock (still in exactly the same state as last week, whoops). A new wrist warmer for the other hand (the instructions, which were supposed to be for a beginner wanting a challenge, are difficult. For the other hand it says, reverse the instructions - easier said than done). Tape measure. Nanny Slippers - awaiting a Pom Pom.

There is a borrowed pattern for some more wrist warmers, my mints, a mug full of needles, crotchet hooks and scissors. Sewing box with my boys' Cubs/Beavers uniforms and badges waiting to be sewn on. New wool and a gorgeous case full of shiny new crochet hooks. (Christmas Present from Huffle).

Ooooh I like shiny things.

I will hopefully be desk-hopping tomorrow but as usual I have an excuse (visitor from London, England). Actually she has asked me to teach her to crochet so maybe she will be on my table next week ha ha ha.

 

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Wrist Warmer and a Slipper

Today I went to my knitting group. We all decided to have a go at knitting Nanny Socks. These, apparently, are a very Canadian thing started by Grandmas (Nannys) who made them for her grandchildren. I managed to knit, sew and add a Pom-Pom to one whole slipper.

I will add this pattern to the blog at some point soon. It's so easy (well I finished it in just over two hours).

Also I managed to finish my owl wrist/arm warmer that I was knitting. (I should sew the ends in and sew on some buttons for eyes).

I am really pleased with it. It was supposed to be a beginner knit (for those who wanted a challenge). It certainly isn't a beginner knit but it wasn't too hard. It's lovely Nd chunky and warm and I can't wait to make my next one although my Knitting lady gave me a pattern for a different wrist warmer which I fancy doing too. Maybe I will be a one sock, one glove, one slipper person and NEVER finish the second ones!

 

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WOYWW #189 - how many needles does it take to make a glove?

Hello woyww'ers. Never heard of it? Where have you been? Try this then.

So here is my desk. It is a temporary desk as it is cold and dark up in the loft today and I wanted to knit in front of the TV. Today I am using our Games/Homework/extra craft table, and on it is.......

Arm Warmers! I decided to have a go at making the lovely owl arm warmers from Mollie Makes. My Mum is over visiting from England and she buys Mollie Makes and saves them up for me so I get a big pile every visit. I am so lucky. I love these arm warmers/gloves and because it uses cable (have never done any cable) I thought I would take advantage of Mum being here to help me.

So three needles, knitting in the round - no problem, fourth needle to actually knit and then another needle to put the cable stitches on - oh my goodness - now it's confusing. I thought this would be easy after knitting the sock for the last three months.

I will persevere and let you see how I get on.

P.s. the sock is still growing. On the foot part, another few inches and I'll be at the toe. Then I guess I have to start the other foot.

 

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WOYWW #188 - tidiness

It's Wednesday, and this time I didn't need reminding. However, I haven't done ANY crafting. I blame my Mum for visiting for six weeks, or Christmas, or the fact I went to New York, then it was New Year. All these excuses. But I did tidy up so my desk is nice and clean and ready for work.

That Choclate is still there. My new crochet hooks in their little bag. Sewing box. Sewing machine (must get a cover for that!). A bit of Zentangling I was doing on a mount with my new pen that Huffle bought me. A lovely card made by the talented Brenda and my new tiny scissors that came with an issue of Mollie Makes (thanks Moo).

I am hoping that I will start 'making' soon. In the meantime go and see what others are doing here.

 

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WOYWW #187 - Christmas Presents

Happy New Year. I forgot it was a Wednesday again (thanks Brenda) so I just rushed upstairs to my craft table, took a photo and came down to have my breakfast (though for most of you it will be the middle of the day!).

I had two lovely crafting books, one Martha Stewart - Encyclopaedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts and Mollie Makes Christmas. Moo gave me a lovely little bag full of different ribbons and some different coloured cottons. The bar of Choclate is a present that never got given so I guess I will have to claim it as my own. Huffle bought me a gorgeous little case full of different coloured aluminium crochet hooks. There is some ribbon from PJ's and my ever so slowly increasing sock.

That's me done for today. Hope you all had a super Christmas and have a fabulous 2013. I have my Mum here visiting from England so forgive me if I don't visit as many as I should (always an excuse!).

Of course, I am here on WOYWW because of Julia and her wonderful world of desk hopping.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

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