The Kids Are Alight

Getting around to some craftin'

2010-10-15T01:22:00.004+01:00

I pulled out some crochet for our anniversary. one year. holy moly time flies.

He really likes mushrooms. So I made some mushrooms.

Sorry for the poor photography. I'm all about the iPhone now that I have one so expect every photo I take to be of poor quality, poor lighting, poor colour. Its what everyone else is doing.

Here are the mushrooms: some buttons, a morel or two, and some kinda funky mushroom.

I have to admit its not my best work. Its been a while I guess so I could be a bit rusty. Will have to get my crochet on soon though as there seem to be many little ones on the way that will need mini things.

I even put them in one of those mushroom brown paper bags from the supermarket. He thought I'd bought some kinda real mushrooms, I think he was hoping for truffles. But he seems rather happy with these ones as substitute.

Heirloom Tomato

2009-08-07T13:30:00.002+01:00

What a wonderful surprise I got yesterday from Jenni - a packet of heirloom tomatoes. They're kinda hard to find.. but she brought them round to cheer me up. and they worked.

I made a little salad - the best thing about these kinds of tomatoes is that you really need no dressing at all on them as they are just so tasty by themselves. I sliced them up, put on a generous pinch of salt, and let them stew a little but to release their tastiness. Once you've left them for 10 mins or so, i sprinkled over some fresh mint and some cracked pepper. I served them up with some grilled haloumi. it was a delightful lunch indeed!

When does a yarn obsession become a yarn problem?

2009-08-07T05:04:00.003+01:00

Last Saturday afternoon, calmly sitting at home, chatting, relaxing and then suddenly the phone rings.

It's Mhairi - "Han, Champion Wools on King St is having a closing down sale!"

"oh my god. hang on Mhairi - I'll be there in a minute, literally"

I race out the door, power up king st (thank god I live so close!) running past a few people I know not taking the time to stop and say hello, my empty shopping bag in hand. "A Yarn Sale. A Yarn Sale!!" I'm singing in my head.

I run into Champion Yarns, and start touching (and yes "D", I thought about licking) skeins of tasty wool. I started pulling Jo Sharpe balls off the shelf to work on that blanket I'm trying to finish. Next thing I knew my bag was full and I wasn't going to be eating for a whole week. A small sacrifice considering how much wool I got and how great my blanket is going to be one day.

Mhairi and Kirsty were there. I think they might of been a little scared about my hyperactive behavior. They're new to this whole yarn thing, and are safe for a bit longer before the OBSESSION starts. But they got into it pretty quickly and realised the whole conundrum of buying wool: "if I buy something that's nice, but have no idea what to make with it, is that a problem?" As previously mentioned, they are both novices at yarn shopping and came to the conclusion that it was bad to buy without planning before hand. FOOLS, what fools - BUY NOW THINK LATER. especially when there is a sale on!

I'm not going to use this post of moan about the lack of wool stores in Sydney - seriously, there's a massive hole in the market. I'll save that complaint for its own post. I think that is one of the main things I'm missing about London. For a country that produces some of the best merino wool in the world - where are all the yarn shops? where is all the wool?

First Brown St Crochet Meet up

2009-08-07T04:48:00.004+01:00

I've finally got my Sydney crochet gals together. We had our first Crochet meet up last week. and it was fun. I made Mexican, and then we all started to crochet. We've mainly all been working on stuff for the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef here in Sydney, being arranged by In Stitches for the exhibition thats opening at the powerhouse in a few weeks... we had loads to finish. and every one's work is coming along nicely.

The girls hard at work - Mhairi, Kirsty and Erin on the crochet and Cathy catching up on some mending.

Kirsty's Coral

Mhairi's Coral - is as big as her head!

It was Erin's first attempt at crochet (another successful teaching story for me - one of these days I'm going to start charging) and I think she's a natural! With very little instruction she formed this perfect nose warmer! It took me ages to work out how to increase without going all Hyperbolic, and I was trying to teach her to do hyperbolic and she went in perfect rounds! She looks cute as a button!

Entertainment was provided by Ben, and with all the crochet and clothes mending (Cathy refused to learn how to crochet, so she mended things) combined with the soft tinkle of the piano we felt like we'd been taken back to Ye Olden Days.

crochet in the pub

2009-06-22T01:12:00.001+01:00

yesterday went to Golden Barley with M & K & B to do some crochet.I forgot my camera. but it was a fun time, beer and hyperbolic reef making

Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef - Sydney

2009-06-01T07:23:00.002+01:00

I'm pretty excited to come home and discover that a friend of mine is organising the Australian splinter Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef. In Stitches is the group of gals that are arranging it for an exhibition to be held in August at the Powerhouse Museum.

I saw the exhibit in london and now I get to do some for this one.

Yesterday was the first workshop I went to at the Powerhouse Museum and it was really fun. Loads of people, and lots of crocheting. I think I even made some new crochet buddies to play with.

I made a ravelry group today to try and get more people involved.. and so far its going really well! Loads of members and people already making stuff. fantastics

This is my silly first attempt - its not a great photo (bad bad lighting in the powerhouse) but you get the picture.

Here's some other photos of stuff thats already been made for it.

Sydney Food List - Ramens

2009-06-01T07:14:00.003+01:00

One of the first things I wanted to do when arriving back in Sydney was heading for some RAMEN - oh my how I've missed ramen.

A lovely bowl of Tofu Miso Ramen.

Yesterday I went with J & M to Ishi-Ban Boshi in Galleries Victoria and I was very happy about it. Another great reason to go get ramen from here, is that it's right next to Kinokuniya where you can get fantastic craft books.

J likes it as well.

M is pretty happy - its her first time here.

All Gone... well worth the wait of one and a half years!

Back in Business

2009-06-01T07:13:00.001+01:00

I've been away for a while - life has been a bit hectic - thats for sure.
I've spent most of the year traveling around the place and doing strange things.

Now i'm back in Sydney and very happy about it. No more London for me. Ever again. Thats a promise..

So, i'm going to get all crafty with it again.. just watch this space.

Photo Shoot part 2

2009-01-12T15:16:00.008Z

In the next installment of M & F's photo shoot of their xmas pressies from me, here's M in her bed socks - she makes them look sexy, don't you think?

Photo Shoot part 1

2009-01-12T13:15:00.003Z

I asked M & F if they could take some photos of the things I made them for Xmas. M got some bed slippers, and F got a hat (very similar to mine actually).

They went all out and took some lovely lovely photos, so I had to put them all up here, as they make me laugh, and they'll make you laugh as well.

First up, here's Feeb in her hat:

Am loving the nativity scene.

back in action

2009-01-04T11:55:00.002Z

so, we're home from our holidays. france was lovely. I was planning on doing loads of crocheting while chilling in our mountain cabin but for some reason I didn't get around to doing much. i'll get back into it all now i'm home, and looking for work.

new winter hat

2008-12-17T14:06:00.003Z

I finally got around to making something for myself... yay.
a new hat

I've actually made one like this for Feeb for her bday / Christmas pressie. but i added a little crochet flower on this one. Luke thinks its a bit dorky. i kinda like it. the photo is kinda bad... sorry

it's from a Garnstudio Drop pattern.. I'll write more about it later, as I'm rushing to get packed and head off to France for our xmas adventure.

so I'll see you in the new year. 2009. i can't believe it.
see you later

Christmas Present Success

2008-12-16T10:59:00.006Z

Here's M in her xmas pressie from me. I think she's pretty happy with it, and say she keeps getting comments about it, which is nice. And how cute does she look?

Crochet present success, I'd say.

I've asked everyone who I've made something for to take sexy pics and send them to me so I can put them up here. There's a few more to come in, I hope they come in asap before L and I head off on our French Christmas Adventure tomorrow (which I'm very excited about by the way)

wasted rainy day? I don't think so!

2008-12-13T18:51:00.005Z

I feel like I've just spend ages today looking at different blogs. Blogs blogs blogs. You really can spend hours and hours going from one to the next. Today's activity was much more appealing than the other home activity that was going on - L is obsessed with "end of the world" movies, and at the moment he's watching Zardoz (again). Despite the lovely 70's knitwear and crochet that it features, I'm leaving him to it.

I'm on the hunt for UK based stuff as I feel like so many of the blog I look at are from the US of A. There's absolutely nothing wrong with them, I like them a lot. I just want MORE.. MORE MORE MORE stuff to look at. And I also want to find some kind of UK network thing going on.. not all of them are UK based, but they're lovely all the same.

I really like this blog, Needled. It has a really lovely inspiring feel to it.. its on my daily read list now.

Sofia Barao's work is lovely.. it has such a dreamy feel.

Wee Birdy (a fellow aussie in London) seems to keep her finger on the pulse of things in London. I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

Resurrection Fern has some lovely things on Etsy. And some nice post on Lyon, where I'm heading to next week. Handy to discover those pointers this weekend!

I'm loving roman sock's work. I'm totally going to make the frog, and owls (they are so cute)

Some foodie things at Orangette and Pictures & Pancakes (they have such lovely photos on here!)

I could go on.. but I won't - there are already loads of links in my blog roll.. Inspiration is good.

Shhhhh.. another secret

2008-12-11T11:17:00.002Z

Here's another xmas pressie I've been working on. I think its really pretty..mmm

Xmas party food

2008-12-08T11:17:00.003Z

Here's some pics of my cookies.. they all went down rather well it seems. Even my German Taste Tester was impressed. I was a bit nervous that they wouldn't work very well.. but I needn't of been.

I also made some mini pies (no, they're not traditional xmas mince pies - which I don't particularly like), Savoury pies - one with mushroom, spinach and feta. The other with a mince-meat kinda thing. People seemed to like those as well!

Christmas Cookies

2008-12-05T10:29:00.002Z

In prep for a little Christmas/birthday party we're having I've been making Christmas cookies all week.

Hope they come out alright. I guess the Europeans will let me know if they pass or not.

Have made four different types: Vanilla Crescents, Pepperkakor (Swedish style cookies that are good by themselves, or with blue cheese...mmm), Zimtsterne (very hard to make) and Basler Brunsli.

More Craft - Rosette Making

2008-12-05T10:22:00.003Z

The other day while I was at the Hidden Art UK Design Fair at the Truman Brewery, I pick up this rosette making kit from Barley, who runs Fabrications on Broadway market. She's promoting these as part of her Christmas present wrapping workshop thingies. Basically - wrapping your pressies out of recycled things - scarfs, ribbons, buttons. All sorts.

I thought these little kits were cute, so I picked up one, here's my first attempt, I think i need a bit of practice. But not bad for a first try ( it actually looks better in real life than in these pics - I gave it to Feeb for her birthday yesterday, well as part of her pressie.)

I think I want...

2008-12-04T11:56:00.004Z

I think I want to subscribe to Interweave Crochet magazine. Some of the designs look really great and surprisingly modern. I like the look of the Ridge Swing cardi, looks exactly like the kind of thing I want to make, now that I've set goals to make more "serious" things. This jumper looks cute as well. There are loads of other projects as well. mmmm, I might consider this purchase - sounds like a useful thing.

Alex's finished scarf

2008-12-04T08:27:00.003Z

He sure did finish that quickly - and here it is. Alex's scarf. Looks amazing actually. I think I might commission him to make one for a certain someone I know who needs a scarf. It looks good. Props to my knit group peeps!

I wonder what he'll make next - will it be the jumper with the baby dear/bambi on it? Or a hoodie with lightening?

Getting my head around the Granny Squares and discovering a new yarn

2008-12-01T11:00:00.003Z

I've been practising my granny squares. Here are a few I've made recently. I think I'm getting better.

They still look a little rough around the edges - have much more practise to do.

Ages ago when I was down at I Knit London I picked up some Rowan Milk Cotton yarn. I think this is my new favourite to work with. I love how it feels so earthy and natural, and it is made from 30% milk protein - which is pretty odd when you think about it. It comes together really well. I only wish it came in a thicker weight - as then it wouldn't take so long to crochet things up. Here's what I've been doing so far.

The colourful one is actually the Koigu fingering yarn I picked up at the Knitting & Stitching Show. It looks pretty like this I think.

This one is actually a little xmas star decoration. It looks pretty hung up.

some xmas decorations

2008-12-01T10:53:00.003Z

This one is my favourite - he's cute and ugly at the same time. Was meant to be a snowman, but is more like a elfish scary xmas character.

I've been running rather late with all my xmas presents. There seems to be so many people to make things for. and with all the weekends away, and things happening I decided to go the easy peasey route. I've been making a few xmas decorations. They're nothing very special, but are full of Han-Made charm, I think so anyway.

A Christmas tree made from semi-fluffy yarn that gives it a kind of tree like feel.

A Christmas tree - complete with stitched decorations.

A silly little granny square star.. I think its kinda cute.

Shhhh... don't tell anyone

2008-12-01T10:43:00.002Z

I posted a while ago about xmas pressie things.. well here are some sample secret shots. You can't tell what they are.. one day you'll get the full picture...

New Camera

2008-12-01T10:03:00.005Z

I got an early birthday/xmas present from L. I am the happiest girl in the world. I have a brand spanking new canon G10. I'm totally in love with it. We picked it up in duty free (well, tax free) on the way to Aberdeen for the weekend. It takes lovely pics, so hopefully from now on my photos on this blog will be excellent! Here are some nice ones I've taken.

check out the macro- taken at the Aberdeen Maritime Museum

Lovely Light.

I really like this shot of G&S

This is one of the cats that visits my garden. There are about 5 different ones that come by every day to say hi and play with each other.

Crazy Scottish person - going surfing in the snow.

We made some snow men in Aberdeen. Snow is a real novelty for Aussies.

My moment of happiness when I got my hands on my new camera.

A lesson and some lunch

2008-12-01T09:30:00.004Z

D and I had an impromptu knitting day and some lunch on friday.

Firstly I taught her to crochet, and she made a great hat from Garn Studios / Drops Design (I've made it before as well, but more on that later). She used the yummy maggi knits tweed and it came up really well. She's a natural. Hope to see more of her creations in the future. She picked it up in no time, and was totally surprised when she finished the hat before she went home. Crochet is pretty quick sometimes.. even for a beginner.

We then headed out to Shanghai on Kingsland Rd for Dim Sum (or yum cha) happy hour. Everything is just under 2 quid each, and it totally yummy and fresh. The place is pretty cool, it's build in an old eel and pie shop, so looks kinda old-ee english cutesy. with nice tiles and mirrors. Very strange for a yum cha place. We've been a few times now and it's always been pretty good.

Vegetable dumplings made with carrot juice.

Strange goopey prawn and chive things - I think they're called Fun

Turnip cakes - they were ok, one of D's favs.

BBQ Pork Buns. They're pretty good.

Soupy Sundays

2008-11-14T09:22:00.004Z

I love making soup on sundays.

It just seems like the right thing to do after the weekend, and to prepare for the next week.

It kinda reminds me of when I was a little kid and on Sundays evening while other families would be making heavy sunday roasts, my family would make omelets - something light and easy.

For me, there is nothing easier than chucking a bunch of ingredients in a pot at lunchtime and letting it cook for a few hours. Sometimes we make up recipes, with a huge tendency of them to turn into brown-mush, you know that type of soup. But our fav soup to make would be a recipe from the Moro Cookbook (from a great restaurant in London). Even those people who don't like soup have fallen for this one's charm. It's very easy, Lentil and Cumin soup: fry some onions, and whole cumin seeds, add a bunch of lentils and water and cook for a an hour or so. When they're all soft and mushy (and yes, brown) blend the soup smooth. Then wilt-fry up some garlic and spinach, chop very finely and mix with the soup. Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt and a squeeze of lemon. It's yummy.

I just discovered another great recipe on 101 Cookbooks, a great food website I love to look at. It's for Baby Lima Soup with chipolte broth. It looks delish! Can't wait to make this one, I wonder where I can find baby lima beans over here in London.

I made up a recipe the other day for Fresh Autumn soup. Or Green Soup. It was kinda yummy, and took no time at all to cook.

You'll need:

1 medium sized leek

300 grams fresh peas

half a head of broccoli

3 cups of baby spinach

a few gloves of garlic, chopped

500 ml chicken stock (homemade if you've got it)

1 tsp of freshly ground nutmeg

Gently cook the leek in a little butter until soft, add the rest of the garlic, peas and broccoli and the stock, and half a cup of water. Season with salt & pepper, and the nutmeg. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 mins. Add the spinach and cook until it is wilted (probably about 3 mins). Remove from stove and blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve with a spoon of greek yogurt and freshly ground pepper.

Once again, I'm sorry about the crappy picture quality - our camera is STILL broken, well it's not really going to get fixed, but it is taking rather yucky photos.

Making secrets

2008-11-12T11:08:00.003Z

It's kind so annoying really that its Christmas. It's not just about my usual dislike for the festive season - this year it's more than that. Since getting all crafty with it lately I decided to make some presents for people. However, I can't put pictures of the finished items or my Work In Progress up here on my blog in case the people I'm making for see them and then where would the surprise be? And so far I'm pretty happy with what I'm making!

Some people, like A Steno Pad For My Thoughts has so many great ideas for what she's making for her friends and family and posts about them as well. My fav things she's made is this recipe book that she's pulled together from her Grandma's old hand-written cook book to give to all her family. Its such a great idea (and since I'm still in the experimental stage with my recipe filing system) I'm jealous - only problem is, she has really neat and lovely hand writing, while everyone knows I write like a 14 year old teenage boy.

So the main thing is - I am making stuff, you all just can't see it yet! ok!

Rainy Saturday Afternoon

2008-11-09T13:23:00.003Z

No surprise there, but it was raining and horrible on Saturday. That's London for you. I was meant to be having some people around for dinner, and planning on making pizza dough so we could make our own pizzas, but I guess because of the rain and horribleness of the day people just wanted to stay inside. I know that I did. However, after spending most of the week inside (probably going a little stir crazy) I knew it would be good for me to get out.

D called, and we arranged to meet in Islington - have lunch at the Afghan Kitchen (which was so yummy) and then look at Camden Passage antique markets then hit Loop.

I was good - didn't see anything I wanted at the antique market (which is amazing), then we heading to Loop. Which is an incredible yarn store on Cross St. I was nervous, obviously, about walking into a wool shop. What if I had to buy something? D wanted to get some wool and circular needles. Don't worry, I gave her a hard time about buying more stuff so soon after Ally Pally (we did go over board on that adventure, I have confirmed that now), but she was convinced - she must buy more wool.

We were in there for a while, touching things, as you do. D looked at me after about 5 mins and said "Han, have you breathed since we've been in here, you look shocked?". I laughed but inside I was dying as I was ogling over all the beautiful yarns - and I wanted them! Actually I was telling myself I needed them. But I held my breath and resisted the temptation.

I did however pick up some hooks - which I'm happy about (these handy padded hooks should help with the impeding RIS I'm sure is approaching). I've wanted some like these for a while! Yay - I got to buy something in the end.

We needed some cake and coffee after that, I can tell you. Which led to lovely conversations about our directions and in life - the eternal question of what the fuck am I doing with it all and so on. With some rather lovely outcomes. And some inspiration as well.

So, all in all - a lovely Saturday afternoon. a lovely day indeed.

Cracking Granny Squares

2008-11-09T13:05:00.003Z

I've wanted to make Granny Squares for ages. In fact, its the reason I learnt to crochet. I dream of making a lovely blanket. But for so long now I just haven't been able to crack them. I can't get my head around them - I'm really bad at following patters, and am trying to rectify this. I have these two great books - one I got a while ago 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton and the other is an amazing Japanese motif design book I picked up in Paris at the Japanese book shop.

Maybe its insane trying to learn granny squares from a book that is not even in English - but the designs are so pretty I just had to try.

I found these inspirational posts here and here on Attic24's blog (which could be a new fav blog for me) and I was convinced. I had to give it a go! On Friday I was home along and it was pouring with rain, so what better time to struggle through and crack the granny squares. I started with a few misses rather than hits - they looks ugly, very ugly. I had bookmarked The Purl Bee's granny square project ages ago and she also helped me through the tough times.

I got so excited that I just kept going and going. They really don't take too long to churn through each square side. I was using up my oddments from ebay, unfortunately I had to stop as my little scraps of yarn are not long enough now to go round a whole square.

Watch this space - there will be more granny squares.

2 x 1hr scarfs for kids

2008-11-09T12:50:00.003Z

L was heading off to Ireland this weekend to visit some kids who have twins, three year old girls, and at the last minute I remembered I hadn't made them anything as a token pressie.

So at the eleventh hour I got to work on these two crappy scarfs. They really aren't very good (I used up my oddments I purchased from ebay a while ago). I took my inspiration from Laughing Purple Goldfish's one hour crocheted scarf. Its a neat idea. Instead of crocheting the short side of the scarf - you chain the long side first and work sideways. It does (for some reason) make things go much quicker.

I'm not very happy with them due to the colours (limited choice of yarns in my ebay oddments stash), and since they are made from some synthetic yarns it makes me like them even less. However, its the thought that counts. I hope L takes a picture of the girls wearing them to post.

Once again, please excuse the terrible photo.. our camera is still broken...

Crumbs & Doilies - a cupcake challenge

2008-11-07T09:16:00.003Z

I like cupcakes. I have for a long time. The remind me of when I was a kid and went to birthday parties, but more recently they take me back to when I was still an editor and I'd need a break from my edit suite and head down to the farmers market at Fox Studios for some sunshine and a cup cake. A good excuse for getting outside.

You seem to get cupcakes everywhere these days.. but I know the best ones. My mate Jemma is making these amazingly tasty and wonderfully decorated cup cakes at Crumbs & Doilies - she's selling them all over the place. Anyway, she's set me a challenge. She wants me to crochet a cupcake for her. But what kind? Her blog highlights so many different types of decorated ones.... its gonna be hard to pick one design to do...

I guess I'll just have to add it to the To Do List of things I need to make (it's getting rather long now that xmas is approaching)

Here are some of her designs - she makes each one my hand!

Hello - Buffy the Vampire Cup cake! I want to eat you!!

Pretty little cakes..

Punk cupcakes - who would of thought?

All these images come from Jemma's websites and are of her own creations.

I know its not crafts but I'm rambling

2008-11-04T12:47:00.004Z

Train of thought as watching BBC News today:
Today's the day when America votes for their new president. I'm sitting here on the other side of the pond with baited breath. I hope that there are many Americans out there who feel as passionately about voting, having a voice, as I do. I come from Australia where it is compulsory to vote. Some think that's a good idea, others a bad one. I reckon that it makes you interested in politics younger - makes you want to have your say. That's what voting is - helping to shape the future of your country.

The American elections and politics in general in the past have left me cold and confused. The voting process is ridiculous at best - but that shouldn't stop people, it should encourage them to vote for change - to want to be heard!

When I hear about 6 hour long lines of people waiting to vote I wanta throw my fists up in anger and yell at the stupidity! How can a country have too many people voting? It seems they want to make it difficult for people to vote! Its absurd for a country who has put themselves on a global pedestal as "the ultimate democracy" to make voting such a bitch for so many people.

It's often a case in federal elections these days anywhere in the western world of choosing between the lesser of two evils... but somewhere you gotta hope that some people out there really do want change. I hope Obama is that man.

I wonder if Americans realised how important their vote is to the rest of the world?
I kinda wish I could vote.. every vote counts!

WIP: Chunky Baby Alpaca 5 hour throw

2008-11-04T12:35:00.004Z

I got this pattern off ravelry, it's the Lion Brand 5 1/2 hour throw. Its lovely so far. I have made it a little differently, I have only used on strand on yarn - my chunky baby alpaca I purchased at Ally Pally. I saw this yarn and HAD TO HAVE IT, and I knew straight away I wanted to make a blanket out of it. It's just so soft and wonderful. I'm totally in love it. I think I need to buy some more so I can make the blanket really big and wonderful.

I figured since I only have 6 skeins of this wool, I'll just keep going until I finish.. then see if I can get some more. So far I'm pretty happy with it.

WIP: Red Scarf - nearly there

2008-11-04T11:46:00.004Z

It's been taking me ages to finish this scarf. I'm so nearly there, just a few balls of yarn left.. but keep getting distracted by other projects.

This is all I have left, unless I take a trip back to La Droguerie to get some more!

I got this lovely yarn from Paris. Three different shades, a deep burnt red, a lighter red and a dark orange. They all went so well together. I doubled them up, putting either red with the orange, or the two reds together, just mixing it to create a kind of free-flowing. The stitch I did was easy, but I think it looks really nice.

(crochet) 2 row of Double Crochet
1 row of Treble Crochet

and repeat until finish.

I gotta finish it soon...

Knitting Nite #7

2008-11-04T11:34:00.003Z

Another successful knitting nite, although I didn't get much done (I was too busy eating my empanadas and trying to work out what to do with my Baby Alpaca)

M started a new scarf, which is looking GOOD. One of these days she should make something for herself I think!

D started some new fingerless gloves, made from the lovely Purl Alpaca we got at Ally Pally, it really is very lovely yarn - i can't wait to do something with mine!

We had a special guest from Amsterdam visit, a fashion designer to help us out with the direction of our works.. lucky us!

D shows off her new scarf.. looking great!

Our newest member gets straight to business with his scarf - he's one to watch I think. What knitting style and talent. Puts the rest of us to shame.

Empanadas

2008-11-04T11:03:00.003Z

I made empanadas the other day for our knitting group. I have to say, they were pretty tasty indeed.

I made two different types - one with spicy Mexican caramelised onions, the other (and by far the best) mushroom, ham, cheese and coriander. They went down a treat. Here's how I made them:

For the pastry:
This is a simple recipe for empanada dough - you can get more complicate ones, but its quick and easy and has great results!

300 grams plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
25 grams butter
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 egg
250 mls water

Heat the water, butter and oil with a pinch of salt in a saucepan - do not bring to boil but gentle melt the butter. Once warm remove from heat and sift in the flour and stir well. Add the egg and combine the mixture together in the pan (this takes a lot of good hard stirring). Once mixed together, turn it out onto a well floured surface and kneed well. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rest for at least 30 mins. Once this is done - roll out the pastry so its about 3mm or so think. Cut into circles to your desired size (I made little bit sized ones)

For the Mushroom Filing: makes about 20 small cocktail-sized empanadas.
5 or 6 field or large portobello mushrooms
4 slices of cooked ham (you can use Serrano ham for authentic Spanishness, but it has a much stronger flavour so you won't need as much)
a handful or two of grated cheese
half a cup of chopped coriander
Juice of one lime

In a food processor, mix the mushrooms, lime and ham to a medium paste. Mix in the cheese and coriander by hand, add a pinch of salt and pepper and combine well.

For the Spicy Onion Filling: makes about 10 small cocktail-sized empanadas.
One Spanish (red) onion, sliced
1 tsp Epazote (a Mexican herb)
a good pinch of Cayenne pepper
juice of 1 lime
olive oil
pinch of sugar

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer gently - the aim here is to caramelise the onions - not brown them. They must be soft and juicy, take care not to burn. It can take 20-30 mins to get the initial effects.

To make up the empanadas:
Once you have rolled out the pastry and cut out the desired circle size, put a small amount of the mixture on the middle of the round. Fold the pastry in half and pinch together with your fingers, and also use a folk to make sure that there are no holes and it is joined together properly.

Heat a wok or large pan with oil (I used peanut oil, but any kind of vegetable oil will do) and once the oil is hot enough (throw in a small piece of stale bread and it should sizzle and brown in about 30 sec - then its hot enough) add the empanadas in batches, and cook for 3-4 mins (depending on size) or until they are golden brown all over. Remove and rest on some kitchen towel, sprinkle with sea salt.

Then eat them - warm is best!

Fingerless Gloves

2008-10-20T17:09:00.002+01:00

Fingerless Gloves

I caught the train down to Jan's in the south of France last week, and whipped up these gloves on the way. I'm pretty happy with them, I didn't have a pattern, but there are two of them, and they both look the same, which is a great goal kicked for me..

I used two different stitches, I would of liked some more of that Maggi Knits to make them into mittens, but I only had enough for what I did - 50g on each hand. It's very soft alpaca. I'm loving them. I better not lose them!

The Knitting & Stitching Show 2008

2008-10-20T14:38:00.008+01:00

Well Well Well.
The Knitting & Stitching Show was truly amazing. I was overwhelmed by it all. D and I got there at doors open (10am) and walked out of there, well rolled out of there carrying way way too much yarn at about 5pm. Who knew you could spend so much time looking, touching, talking about, dreaming about and purchasing yarn. Actually, I kind of did think the whole day would pass quickly.

I got some amazing yarns (spent far too much money) and meet loads of great people.

Maggi Knits was excellent, such lovely ladies. I purchases this amazing alpaca in orange and some Tweed Fleck Chunky in Denim Blue

The lady from Purl (a new British alpaca wool producer) was great, I got some lovely chocolate brown DK. They had great designs there as well, I wish I had the budget to get more.

From Uppingham Yarns I got these lovely ecological Aran weight yarn. They are so soft and lovely, I might need to get more so i can make a cardi or something.

And from Socktopus I got some lovely hand painted fingering yarn from Hazel Knits and Koigu. I also made a new Ravelry friend, Erqsome which is great!

This lovely handspun and kettle dyed wool from Uruguay in greys, blacks and whites (I think it will make a great beanie), and also this chunky handspun Merino wool from Argentina.

The thing that pushed me over the edge was this amazing Chunky Baby Alpaca from bluefaced, which is so soft and amazing I just to have it - and loads of it. I think I'll need more but I'm going to try for a blanket with this stuff. It's just so lovely.

D and I had loads of fun, stopped for a bit of packed lunch, did a few workshops (which weren't great, just OK) and generally were amazed by everything we saw.

We did buy a lot!!

I can't wait for next year!!

Mexican Food Festival

2008-10-20T14:34:00.003+01:00

Luke and I headed out to the Mexican Food Festival the other weekend which was being held at the Brunswick centre. It wasn't very big - but we did have some yummy food. Also some very interesting food, Luke had Ox tongue (which I could not bring myself to eat).

We did get some extra mexican spices to bring home and use in my Excellent Mexican Black Beans, and some yummy taco kinda things. Also some Horchata and this really strange, but rather nice Beetroot cake.

Knitting Nite #6 (or is it 7?) and we've getting bigger

2008-10-20T14:22:00.005+01:00

We had another knit nite the other week. and boy oh boy - have we grown. It's very exciting to get new members, more friends to hang out with.

AK has joined. and I think he's going to be a pretty good knitter actually, he's even made jumpers and things before. This time he wanted to make another jumper - with a baby deer picture on it. At least he won't be making a scarf like we've all been making lately.

A turned up as well - which was a bit of an accident, but she looked like she needed to knit - so the first rule of Knit Nite being "no judging" we welcomed her with open arms. And she might come back for more.

The only issue with having so many members is finding a time when everyone can turn up!

Updates from previous members:

M finished her scarf this evening - and she's pretty happy with it. I reckon it looks ace, I hope her friend appreciated it!!

D has finished her B.U Scarf - finally, and I think that's very very good for her to move onto new projects - which is already is. (note the double meaning)

I've nearly finished my scarf.. but as usual, I have 50 projects on the go and never sure which one to take up.

In other news - I think we have a new name, which will be announced in its own special postings. Watch out for that one.

Home Cooking From the Garden

2008-10-20T14:11:00.003+01:00

I totally forgot to put these up a while ago. They're off our first (and only) meal from our home grown tomatoes. The tomatoes were pretty good (considering we'd had such a hard time growing them) and loads of them ripened at once, it was a coldish night and they needed eating - a salad just wasn't going to cut it. So I came up with another plan.

I made a Roasted Tomato and basil pasta. Very easy indeed, and so sweet and yummy.

YOU NEED:
A heap of tomatoes (cherry, or larger ones cut up, it doesn't matter)
basil
garlic
olive oil
dash of balsamic vinegar
pinch of sugar
S&P

Heat the oven up to about 17o degrees, mix all the bit together in an oven proof dish, then leave them in the oven until soft and gooey and caramelise, maybe about 30-40mins depending on how hot your oven is.

Take them out, mix them into some penne or spaghetti, grate some Parmesan cheese and you're away. couldn't be easier. and pretty yummy indeed.

Off to Allly Pally

2008-10-12T07:56:00.002+01:00

Finally, after so much waiting the day has arrived - we're off to Ally Pally for the Knitting and Stitching Show! We had a great knit nite last night with new members and everything (photos to come), it was to prep for the show today.

Dinusha and I are very excited (understatement of the year). I have a few ideas of things I "need" to get yarn for. But who knows what else I will stumble across. I hope because it's the last day of the Show I won't miss out on much.

But I'll update later.. I'm sure to have loads of pics.

A weekend without a camera

2008-10-06T08:20:00.002+01:00

Well, I'm without a camera this weekend as Luke's gone to Copenhagen to visit a friend so he's taken it with him.

The weather has been horrible, raining and windy, and grey - exactly the kind of weather where you want to stay inside and stay warm, especially if you feel like you have a cold coming on again.

So, here's a few things i did this weekend:

The biggest thing I did was finally begin to rearrange my recipe folder. I've been meaning to do this for so long, and have been umming and ahhhing about the best way to organise them. It's mainly recipes I've cut out of magazines and newspapers. Before yesterday they were all in a total mess - just piled into a folder making it difficult to find anything. I was considering cutting them all out, sticking them on index cards and putting them in a box, but I knew I'd loose all the pictures - which is kind of what I like best about recipes anyway. In the end i organised them in sections (chicken, lamb, beef, herbs, vege, tomatoes, asian, french, italian and so on) it was a mission and there were recipes spread all over the living room floor as I sorted them out. I wish I could of taken a photo of it - it was a MESS. I've basically finished.. a few more odds and sods to sort out. But it's a good feeling.
Made roast pumpkin soup with garlic. I got the main idea from Soup Kitchen, but kinda changed it a bit. I wasn't super happy with it, but it worked out ok.
Worked on my scarf - I really need to finish it soon as winter is well and truly here. Will post some photos of it soon - I'm making it from the yarn I purchased at La Droguerie in Paris. I keep meaning to post pictures of all the things I bought there, but keep using them before i get a chance. It's a cute stitch I'm using - Maybe I'll post the pattern up here. It's not very complicated.
I hang out on Raverly a bit. I signed up ages ago and haven't really done much on there and kind of want to. So I posted on a few forums, tried to find some new groups. I also wanted to find out about the buzz for this weekend's Knitting and Stitching show at Ally Pally. I'm going with D and we are pretty excited. I have a feeling its going to be great. So I've been thinking about that a fair bit to (should I have a shopping list, how much money should I take, is one day enough). We're thinking of having a Knit Nite on Saturday to get all excited about heading out there the next day. It will be good if Maaike comes as well. I'm sure I'll be posting with joy and excitement next week.
I also thought about my job loads. I keep meaning to post about this.. as its relevant and kinda exciting ... I will one day soon.

So, all in all a pretty eventful weekend.

Bag #2 - Corduroy

2008-10-02T08:54:00.005+01:00

So I finished my second home made bag.

This one was for a birthday present for Maaike. It's black corduroy with a lovely blue/greyish cotton lining. I tried to make sure the straps were as strong as possible as I know she seems to carry around half her possessions all the time, so we'll have to see if it holds.

I did discover that my lovely Jones Deluxe sewing machine is probably not great for thicker fabrics (3 or 4 layers of cord seemed to break the needle a few times) but I got there in the end.

She was pretty happy with it when I presented it to her at Knit Nite yesterday (I think) and so am I.

(These photos aren't the greatest as previously mentioned our old little canon is breaking somewhat, I hope to have that rectified soon with an early birthday present, hint hint)

it's in the bag

2008-09-29T11:48:00.006+01:00

I finally plucked up the courage to make something exciting on the sewing machine. I don't know why I was a bit scared about it, I guess it's just about tackling new things... So I made a bag, and I'm pretty happy with it, considering I've never made one before, and I didn't have a pattern. I based it on this excellent bag we got in Stockholm last Xmas, and it seems to have turned out alright.

The fabric I used was from Paris, just off cuts that I purchased for a few euros at "Les Coupon de Saint Pierre" (amazing fabric shop on a street with loads of other fabric shops).

I like how I made the straps the two different types of fabrics, matching the lining.

When I was down at Broadway Market on Saturday I got given a I heart hackney badge.. people around these parts sure do love it. I know I do.

Updates & Breakfast foods: eggs in tomatoes

2008-09-28T11:39:00.004+01:00

It's been a while since I've updated (yet again) but things have been a bit busy here in London lately with Minna leaving and working and so on. And our camera is broken (it was dropped outside the Pompidou center in Paris and seems to take rather strange photos).

Here's an old photo of something yummy (although I don't eat eggs I can appreciate the idea behind these). L's well into them, and made them again this morning. I saw on Angry Chicken's blog she's looking for interesting breakfast ideas, and thought that this is a great one!

Basically - hollow out some tomatoes, put them in a hot oven with some S&P, a dash of olive oil and some fresh basil. Cook them for about 15mins (or until kinda soft and cooked) then crack an egg in them and put them back in the oven until the eggs are cooked (maybe about 10mins or less).

The recipe is from this excellent Italian cookbook, The Silver Spoon which I recommend everyone to get hold of. Its an encyclopedia of Italian cooking, so many ideas and great recipes. We also have the Spanish version, 1080 Recipes both brought to you by the great publishers, Phaidon.

Paris Part 1: Things I've seen

2008-09-10T21:35:00.009+01:00

Where do you start with a long weekend in Paris?

There is just so much to do and see, even though I've been there a few times before. L & I did loads of stuff, loads of walking and a fair bit of eating. It was his first time so we had to do some of the more iconic Parisian sights. I did however manage to drag him around to a bunch of crafty places. Here are some of the things I've seen.

The apartment we stayed in was near Goncourt, it was so lovely and in a up and coming area of Paris near the Canal St Martin, the 10th district of paris. I do think that staying in apartments is so much better than a hotel, and far better value. There were loads of lovely things about it, but my favourite was this chandelier, made from an old milk bottle holder-thingy and loads of milk bottles.. such a great simple idea. I'm always seeing these at flea markets and second hand stores, I think I'm going to have to copy their style.

Of course no trip to Paris for a yarn nerd like me would be complete without a visit to La Droguerie, a old and wonderful yarn shop right in the central of town. I spent a while in there trying to work out what to buy - there were so many beautiful things. In the end i purchased some yummy supersoft 100% wool (but I'm saving all my Paris purchases for another post, so you'll have to wait for that one)

And then walking around Le Marais I saw this little shop selling these cute knitted finger puppets.. a whole shop of them. Most of them seemed to be based on a fairy tale theme.

Near Hotel du Ville there's a street that has a bunch of Papiers on it (shops that only sell paper items) : like these amazing bound books, and sheets of wonderful paper.

We also headed out to the Marche aux Puces de St Ouen (a massive flea market in the north of Paris) that is great. There are loads of vintage stalls selling everything from old pieces of watches, buttons, clothes, fabric, furniture, retro pieces and nick-nacks. It's pretty lovely, even if a lot of the stuff is expensive. Well worth a visit.

Time Out

2008-09-10T11:03:00.002+01:00

I realised I haven't posted on here for a while - but I've been a bit busy.

But you can expect some lovely updates soon, including great adventures from Paris ( a quick weekend away), some cooking and FINALLY some excellent tomatoes from the garden.

Bike In A Box

2008-08-26T08:50:00.006+01:00

I made this bike for Robin's bday, it's not as lovely and tidy and neat as I'd like it to be, but I think for a first attempt its pretty good. I made it while watching episodes 1 and 2 of the Godfather. L made the box for it to be mounted in - I think we make a pretty good team. I reckon we can expect more strange crocheted l'objects in boxes - they make good pressies and look cool as well.

My first pupil.

2008-08-26T08:47:00.004+01:00

Mhairi came to stay and one of the first things she does is learn how to crochet. She picked it up pretty quickly and was pretty good.. I feel like a proud mother and think that when she heads back to Sydney tomorrow she'll be taking her crafting ways with her!

Knitting Nite #4

2008-08-22T13:43:00.004+01:00

Not a very successful Knitting Nite this week actually as not much knitting was done. We held it at my place as we were expecting a very special guest, Minna (who is departing London too soon) alas she's been pushing the boat out a bit far lately and has a thousand things going on with the move and the saying goodbyes and the packing as well as racking up too many air miles, and she came down with flu lurgy so she didn't make an appearance.

I think the other reason that we didn't knit much is because we ate too much and got sleepy.

I made Chicken Legs cooked in Cider with onions, a recipe I got from Delicious mag.

Here's the recipe - easy and yummy

4 chicken leg pieces (the whole leg and thigh, or I have used a whole chicken for this as well, which is also very good)
500mls dry cider
4 medium onions, sliced
fresh thyme
small pot of cream, or creme fresh
fresh peas, or little gem lettuce

Brown the chicken pieces (no need to do this if you are using a whole chicken) in a heavy based pot (I use one of these), then take off the heat and pour in the cider and stir in the sliced onions. The cider should pretty much cover the chicken. Pinch of salt & pepper, and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Put it in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C and cook covered for 30 mins (adjust timings for whole chicken). Uncover the pot and cook for a further 10-20mins (until chicken is cooked through).

Remove from the oven, and take the chicken pieces out of the pot and rest - keeping warm. Bring the pot with the onions and cider to boil and reduce for 10mins, add in the cream and fresh peas (or little gem lettuce or both) and cook for a few minutes until veges are softened.

Serve the chicken pieces with mashed potato, pour over the cider-onion-pea sauce and some young greens (I used pointed cabbage on this occasion).

And enjoy.

D still doesn't like having her photo taken.

Portuguese Chicken Burgers

2008-08-22T13:38:00.003+01:00

It's always the little things you miss from home, and L's been missing Portuguese chicken burgers.. for his birthday back in July I got him some of this tasty peri peri hot sauce which we've been waiting to try out - and we finally did on the weekend.

All we needed was some organic free-range chicken breasts, which we flattened with a meat tenderiser, we grilled them and put them on a fresh baguette with some lettuce, mayo and the chili sauce. They were pretty close to the mark, and rather tasty indeed.

Knitting Nite #3

2008-08-22T13:28:00.004+01:00

A few weeks late it seems, but it was a good knitting knit on the 13th August at D's house. We had this yummy risotto, some pretty full on tasty french red wine and some clafoutis from La Bouche, a great french deli/cafe on Broadway Market.

Not only did we knit and crochet and gossip, but I scored a little job with D's flat mate, who publishes knitting books - I'm now doing some research for her, which is great as it means I get paid to look at knitting blogs on the Internet - it's like a dream come true. So it really seems that I'm saying GOODBYE to the film industry, which actually makes me pretty happy.

D's scarf is coming along very nicely....

WIP: Crocheted Robot Family

2008-08-13T12:41:00.003+01:00

They're not finished yet, but I'm getting there. I'm pretty excited about how they look actually, I can really see I'm getting better. I had some help with working out how to make the cubes come out right, but they're looking pretty good I reckon.

Spicy Adzuki Bean Burgers

2008-08-13T12:24:00.003+01:00

I made these the other night as I found some tins of adzuki beans in the cupboard, you can use soaked fresh beans obviously, but to make it easy if you're cooking after work then tins will work fine.

2 x tins of adzuki beans (mashed, or coarsely blended in a food processor)
1 small potato, grated
2 small carrots, grated
2 stalks of celery, very finally chopped
1 red onion, finally chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed,
a handful of grated cheese (I used cheddar)
2 or 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds
1 cup of fresh bread crumbs
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
1/2 teaspoon of coriander powder
pinch of salt
slug of mirin

I made the bread crumbs out of some bread that had been sitting around for a few days, cutting off the crusts and putting them in the food processor. I wouldn't ever use store bought bread crumbs as I don't think they taste very nice. The reason I use bread crumbs is to bind them together, if you don't want to make your own just add an egg and a bit of flour to act as a binding agent. You could also use, No Egg, which is basically a potato starch.

Mix all the ingredients together, (I kept a small amount of bread crumbs aside to roll the burgers in before cooking).

Form the patties into handful sized balls, then roll them in the leftover bread crumbs, or flour. Cook them over a medium heat in a splash of olive oil (or whatever oil you like). When they have been cooking for a few minutes, press the balls down with a spatula so they form a burger shape, make sure that they are sealed well before doing this otherwise they could fall apart.

Cook for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, until the look crispy and delicious.

I served them with a Greek yogurt and dill sauce, and some spinach that had been flashed a pan with garlic and a squeeze of lemon (the best way to eat spinach, I think).

enjoy!

First attempt at sewing

2008-08-11T11:40:00.004+01:00

I've been getting to know my Jones Deluxe 1970 vintage sewing machine by making this not-so-cubey cube, and a pin cushion which for some reason turned out like a bowling pin (which was not my intention at all, but i think it looks cute).

I popped into Mermaid Fabrics in the Narrow Way near Hackney Central and picked up this pile of scrapes for a quid.

My New Love - 1970 vintage sewing machine

2008-08-11T11:29:00.004+01:00

I've been popping into the Bric'n'Brac store at Hackney Downs every now and then to keep an eye out for a sewing machine, and last Tuesday was my lucky day! I know it's taken me nearly a week to finally put some photos up of it, but I've been a bit distracted by it. I do really love it!

It's a Jones Deluxe (it doesn't matter that not many people have heard of it). It comes with the original purchase warranty (1970), original manual, all sorts of presser feet, bobbins and looks like it has hardly been used.

Obviously I have a lot to learn about sewing and what not, but I feel like I am completely crafty now! L even made some space in his studio for me to set up my crafty camp which was very nice of him.

Sunday trip to Brick Lane

2008-08-11T11:13:00.005+01:00

We decided to pop down to Brick Lane yesterday to check out what was going on. It was so busy, as is to be expect on a Sunday. We didn't really bother doing much looking around the market - but we did head down to Cheshire St where there are so many cute stores.

One shop we've been walking into for months is Ellen Doran, she has such lovely things in there.. and we finally bought these place mats (they were 50% off which was the clincher, and it also means we can throw away those terrible ikea ones!). L thinks they are "too pretty", but I think they are just pretty enough (we really don't have that much girlie stuff in our house).

I also really like Labour & Wait - they have lovely oldie rustic things in there. Like these linen dish cloths, old fashioned colander and this cute tea pot cosy.

There are so many other stores down there, but Mar Mar Co is also great!

green tomatoes

2008-08-11T11:11:00.001+01:00

The tomatoes are finally arriving, even if they are a little late.. hopefully these will ripen up nicely before the evil squirrels get them.

Booty-not-so-licious

2008-08-11T11:01:00.003+01:00

I've been making some baby booties for the Ravelry Ravelympics, Baby Dressage event. I decided that I'd knock some together for Jo's new baby, Oliver (who looks rather cute). I found a pattern in Erika Knight's Essential Crochet and off I went.

I quickly realised that the problem with making two of the same thing, is that they both have to be the same.. the lovely soft as anything UK Alpaca wool I got from Prick Your Finger, in Bethnal Green is so lovely, its just a shame my booties look funny.

Maybe I should start again?

Lovely Softies..

2008-08-10T14:53:00.004+01:00

I was checking out here and stumbled across these lovely crocheted and fabric creatures from Sweet Nellie. I think they're just beautiful.

Since summer is over, lets bring out the scarfs

2008-08-05T11:50:00.002+01:00

I've been umming and ahhing about what to make out of this tasty yarn I got in Barcelona, and have decided that it has to be a scarf.. I started last night, am practicing a few other stitches to make it softer and more fabric-y .. here's hoping it works out!

Box of apricots

2008-08-05T11:48:00.003+01:00

I got these yesterday from the Turkish Food Center in Ridley Rd Market for a bargin (3quid).. now all I have to do is decide what to do with them.. any suggestions

Spicy Broad Bean fitters

2008-08-05T11:47:00.003+01:00

I saw a certain celebrity chef on the TV the other night making these yummy looking fritters.. so i thought I'd give them a go. I'm loving this year's broad beans, but have usually been putting them is salads and some stew-type things.. so it was nice to see a new way of doing them.. and it was really easy as well..

I just whizzed up the broad beans with cumin, mint, cayenne pepper and a few other things, shallow fried them for a minute or so, the served them with a salad and a yogurt/lemon/dill dressing.

They were yummy.

We have arms!

2008-08-04T08:48:00.002+01:00

I finished the doll I started at my first Knitting Nite this week. And yes, as you can see - we finally have some arms (now can you see why I haven't been putting them on - I'm not very good at them!). We also have some eyes. I think we're calling this one Purple Party Boy, or Party G I M P. I think he looks a bit like one of the Sand People from Star wars.

Something from the garden

2008-08-04T08:44:00.002+01:00

Finally - our first two cherry tomatoes from the garden and they were tasty. There are a few more waiting to green up. We've been growing two types - these cherry toms have been growing pretty well, but I've been pretty disapointed with the tumbling toms - they are just starting to flower now (not one sign of any fruit) and they have pretty hard to control..

as L says, we've learnt a lot of the garden this year - which I guess is what you say when it hasn't been as successful as you would of hoped! It seems that summer is pretty much over here in London so better luck next year!

What Not To Crochet...

2008-08-01T16:57:00.008+01:00

I've been checking out 100s of crafty blogs today, and came across this funny one What Not To Crochet. I was thinking that some of my dolls should go up here, since they're a big ugly.. hopefully I'll never discover them there as I've added What Not To Crochet to my google reader.

And you thought some of my dolls were scary looking... this one is frightening.

Books I want: Creepy Cute Crochet - Zombie, Ninja, Robots & More

2008-08-01T10:03:00.005+01:00

I saw this book on FutureGirl's blog and I want it. You can make little ninja, scary monster.. it looks excellent. I know who I need to make that monkey for.. she's even asked for a crocheted something for her bday which is coming up in August. Better get on that!

Knitting Nite #1

2008-07-31T11:28:00.004+01:00

Last night D and I had our first Knitting Nite - it was fun. I started on another doll, typically it's rather odd looking. And D started work on a new scarf - then pulled it apart and started again. We chatted away and then suddenly it was nearly 11pm, time flies when you're knitting and nattering.

I can't wait for the next one.

Summer BBQ

2008-07-31T11:19:00.003+01:00

We had a lovely friday evening BBQ with Mar & Feeb, they seemed to like my funny dolls. I couldn't put up the naughty pictures they took of them, but they are rather amusing.

I marinated some lamb chops with Greek yogurt, sumac, garlic and a touch of mango powder which were yummy - even for the lapsing vegetarian that I am.

I also made some vege kebabs with eggplant, mushrooms and onions which were marinated in tamari and mirin. They were pretty tasty - even if we forgot the soak the skewers in water before hand.

To finish some excellent baklava from the The Turkish Food Center (TFC) on Ridley Rd, my fav place to shop these days.

Free food for pests

2008-07-31T11:14:00.004+01:00

I'm a bit concerned about some of my veggies growing in the garden.
My purple sprouting broccoli isn't sprouting, my marjoram has gone to seed and the red cabbage is getting attacked by these nasty critters who have been slowly getting through them one by one.
The garden has not been too successful this year..
But at least we'll have some tomatoes soon I hope.

Wool overload

2008-07-22T11:17:00.003+01:00

I just discovered buying wool on ebay. I went a bit overboard and won 1.5kg of oddments for a few pounds, other selections cost only 99p plus postage. I figured they'd be good for my doll making.

Lovely woolen blanket

2008-07-22T11:01:00.007+01:00

We headed off to EcoFair2008 on the weekend. It was a total bust - loads of travelling for nothing it turned out. We were hoping for loads of info on sustainable house building, grey water systems, earth ships, and all that kind of thing. Instead there were a bunch of faux hippies selling crap. There was even someone selling "special" bottled water - which seems to go against the whole eco movement. We did however get this lovely wool blanket, which is made from the off cuts of wool from some factory.. it is lovely.

Crochet donut

2008-07-22T10:53:00.002+01:00

L had his bike stolen last week, which happens in London, so to cheer him up I thought I'd crochet him one of his fav things - a donut.
I'm going to give cup cakes a go next.

More attempts at doll making

2008-07-22T10:46:00.005+01:00

Still without a pattern, I'm trying to make dolls.. They're fun actually as you get to just make it up as you go along, change colours here, make it longer there, fatter here. Crocheting seems to be rather forgiving and also I'm loving the free form of it, I don't seem to be able to do that with knitting. Here are three more attempts at "dolls"... they're still not perfect..

I know this one doesn't have any arms - but that's OK..

Oh, this one doesn't have any arms either - we're calling him, "Mr Robust in a stripey sweater".

Fuzzy Baby doll - this one is really just an alien blob. not really a doll.

Fuzzy Hat for M

2008-07-22T10:42:00.003+01:00

My first attempt as crocheting in rounds turned into this fuzzy hat in rose pink and black. I got the scraps of wool from a lady on Brick Lane. I'm glad it was that fluffy yarn as it helped to mask my mistakes. It's the wrong colour for me, so I thought that M could use it for when she returned to deepest darkest Sweden. I hope she likes it.

Bric-a-Brac bargain

2008-07-22T10:25:00.005+01:00

M & M, L and I stumbled across this strange jumble sale in a pub near Columbia Rd
a few weeks ago. It was pouring with rain, and inside there were little stores selling all sorts of excellent antique-y, old-y, junky stuff. It was a bit odd walking around a garage sale with pints - but I did manage to snag this excellent knitting needle holder, with all the needles in it for 6quid. What a bargain!

aborted scarfs

2008-07-22T10:22:00.002+01:00

I've finally given up on these two scarfs. I was just using them as practice - my first attempts at knitting in twenty years - but they got boring and were taking forever. I think that a lot of people give up on scarfs so I don't feel too bad.

Spanish purchases

2008-07-22T09:33:00.005+01:00

Two excellent things I scored in Barcelona:

This cute little crochet needle holder thingy - from a flea market.

This beautiful Spanish wool - I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, maybe a hat. It's such a wonderful colour.

Inspiration from Barcelona

2008-07-22T08:22:00.005+01:00

My first trip to Barcelona in 10 years was simply amazing. The great people, food, sights and weather, bars and lifestyle were just what I needed to get over my London non-summer hump. We spent a week just walking (or riding bikes) around just taking everything in. One of the best things I did was go inside Gaudi's Casa Milà when L was working one day.

You can't mistake it from the outside as anything other than a Gaudi, and it is quiet breathtaking. Once inside the apartment on the top floor, the robust lines of the exterior morph into beautiful sinous biomorphic lines. A light filled example of Art Nouveau, subtle detail and an amazing use of space. I could of spent hours in there.

The detail in every corner was what I loved about it the most. The wood work on the beds, light fixtures and doors. The undulating ceiling, the floor tiles and these crochet curtains were also pretty special.

Spring in our garden

2008-07-22T08:10:00.008+01:00

Coming back from a week's holiday in spain I was a bit concerned that our garden would have suffered after forgetting to leave M the keys to get in and water. How wrong was I? We came back it and has grown out of this world - I just can't wait to eat something other than herbs out of it.

First Attempt at crocheting a doll

2008-07-22T08:02:00.006+01:00

My first attempts at crocheting in rounds turned out a little hyperbolic, then they got a little more formed. I eventually got the knack and thought I'd make a creature/doll. This one is a bit freaky looking, but not bad for a first attempt.