They’re Finished!
I’ve finally finished knitting the mother-daughter headband and gloves sets for my colleague, Rae and her teenage daughter, Ebony. The school girl knits were completed earlier this month using cheap, yucky acrylic. They still turned out lovely but I hated the feel of the yarn against my fingers. This time I knitted for the very first time using Bendigo Woollen Mills wool and I was so MUCH happier to knit with something alive!
I knitted the headband from DROPS design and the pattern wasn’t very clear when doing the increases and decreases. It wasn’t bad with a little bit of thinking. I know I would have fudged it up if I was a beginner knitter. The Calorimetry was so much quicker to knit (took only one night!) because I didn’t need to think too much. Just follow the directions and it turned out perfect. The DROPS headband took me 3 nights!
Details on Ravelry
Then I hunted around Ravelry looking for the right gloves for Rae. I didn’t want to knit her the same gloves as her daughter because I don’t like knitting the same pattern twice. I like to challenge myself with something new. I cast on for Fingerless Mitts with XO Cables and boy, did I get a challenge! The pattern was the most frustrating pattern I’ve ever tried to follow.
The cable pattern rows were not the same as the rows I knit. So I had to keep track of each cable pattern row I’m on while doing ribbing, increases, thumb gussets AND decreases. Geez! Look at what happened to my pattern sheet:
The weird thing is that according to Ravelry, 6 other people have knitted this pattern and not one said the pattern was crap! One knitter even said “they were quick and fun to make”. Is it just me?
Details on Ravelry
To look on the bright side, the gloves look and feel terrific AND the struggle is finally over. I’m putting down my dpns for a long while. I’ve got 3 scarves lined up – a simple, mindless garter stitch scarf for charity, a Lace Ribbon Scarf for one of Richard’s students he tutors and a Clapotis for myself. I doubt I’ll get too enjoy the Clapotis much cos winter starts tomorrow and it’s the last in my list of priorities at the moment. All I can do is knit on!
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Strike Me Happy!
Teachers were on strike today so we didn’t have to go to work. The bad news is that I don’t get paid but there were plenty of good things that made me happy. I was still in my pajamas, reading my emails and saw that four people left comments on my last post. Ah, it’s good to know there are people reading my blog. Then the postman arrived and delivered my first ever online ordered wool!
Since I started knitting 3 years ago, 90% of the yarn I used were acrylic. I just didn’t have the funds to buy anything else. To be even more budget conscious, almost all my projects were small and only require small amounts of yarn. But then I found Bendigo Woollen Mills a few weeks ago and I can foresee my knitting going into a new direction. Not only was I supporting the local farmers and reducing my carbon footprint by buying locally, the yarn is ridiculously cheap as compared to those available at shops like Kmart, Big W, Spotlight and Lincraft – $11 for 200g of pure Australian wool! It’s such a joy to knit with for so many reasons!
Following the high from the yarn delivery, Richard and I went to The Running Shop at East Gosford and bought a pair of shoes each. It was the best shopping experience I’ve ever had buying running shoes! The shop supplies many local sporting groups and is highly recommended by podiatrists. I can see why! I wouldn’t go anywhere else from now on. They know their shoes!
I’m walking away my winter blues!
Well, it won’t be me if I didn’t have food porn to top off my good day. This one is a little bit unusual – cornflake crumbed baked chicken and crunchy roast potatoes! I followed the recipe from the Kellogg’s Cornflake Crumb packet. Basically the chicken is coated with egg and dipped in a mixture of crumb and grated parmesan, then baked. I thought it needed a bit more oomph but tt wasn’t too bad though. The roast potatoes, on the other hand, were yummy! I followed this recipe and added a sprinkle of Vegeta and dried rosemary prior to baking. Crisp on the outside but soft and fluffy inside. Mmm…
And a little warning before you read on. If you’re on a diet, look away now.
Sinfully good! The chocolate chip cookies had soooo much dark chocolate chips, it’s just wrong! Since it’s double chocolate, do two wrongs make a right?
Recipe
Cheering Me Up
I’ve got winter blues. The world seems dark and dreary and COLD! So I baked chocolate brownies to bring to work the other day cos we all need a little perking up at the moment. I can’t believe how soft and moist the brownies turned out and the recipe is simply from the side of the Nestle baking cocoa tin!
AND I knitted myself a new school bag to tote my stationery from class to class. It’s bright red and it sure makes me smile when I see it sitting at the back of a chair. The classroom suddenly doesn’t feel so dull and grey.
Pattern
Details on Ravelry
I’m off to crochet a blanket to keep me warm! Taaa!
Pattern
Mushroom Risotto
I made risotto for the first time today. I’ve helped a student make it in Food Tech before but not from scratch by myself. I used Elise’s recipe and I have to say that her recipes are just spot on! I’m rather pleased with myself that I did not to stuff it up. The rice stayed quite firm and chewy and it didn’t turn out too gluggy.
The only adjustment I made was that I replaced cognac with stock. When I make it again, I’ll use more mushrooms and add less parmesan cheese. The cheese I used made it too salty for my liking. Overall, it’s not a weekday dish cos it took me nearly an hour to make but definitely worth making it again when I have the time. Such a soothing comfort food.
School Girl Knits
I’m surprised by how far a 100g ball of yarn can go. I’ve knitted a pair of Fetching fingerless gloves and a Calorimetry headband for my colleague’s daughter, Ebony, from one ball of yarn and I still have about 20g left. Relatively quick knits. It took me 6 days to knit all of these. I’m taking a break for the rest of the week!
The autumn winds seem to be worse when you’re standing around school waiting for classes so I’m sure these will keep Eb warmer through the cold season.
Fetching Pattern
Rae modelled the Calorimetry headband I knitted for her daughter. It looks good against her blonde hair.
Calorimetry pattern
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