Amigurumi “Wheat” Guy

Errgghh… I don’t feel too good…

I think I’m gonna… I’m gonna…

… SPEW!!!

Ahhh… That’s better… Oh! What is this? It’s so warm!

Mmm… Wheat bag…

Subscribe to Salihan Crafts


Stumble It!

Funny Cake Video

I was recommended Cake Wrecks by another blogger and it’s one of the funniest websites out there! Even made Richard laughed looking at some of the tragic cakes! Anyway, this video was posted on Cake Wrecks and I thought I’ll share it with you. I’ve been feeling like I need to laugh more and this one is pretty funny!

Subscribe to Salihan Crafts


Stumble It!

Two skeins of Malabrigo later…

I wanted to knit Richard a hat and a pair of gloves for his new job in the city. He is commuting to Sydney everyday; that’s an average time of three hours of travelling each day! So the wool for his hat and gloves has to be soft and warm for his wintery journey. There was no doubt in my mind that I needed Malabrigo. I bought two skeins of Tortuga from Jolene who has an online shop selling Malabrigo. I don’t think you can buy it online elsewhere in Australia.

Malabrigo didn’t disappoint. It’s fantastic value for money. I knitted a hat and two pairs of gloves for $32, including postage! The quality of this hand dyed merino wool is the best I’ve ever knitted with. It’s luxuriously soft and warm. The subtle colour changes makes it even more exciting to knit with. The only downside is that the gloves I made pills. I think the friction from being stuffed into pockets probably caused the pilling.

Richard picked the Jacques Cousteau hat pattern because he LOVES the spirals at the top and the big foldover bit (that’s the technical name, isn’t it?). The wool feels softer the bigger the surface area so it was just a pleasure to knit with.


Details on Ravelry

And then the troubles began. My first attempt at full fingered gloves and boy was it a pain right to the end. I only wanted to knit one pair of gloves for Richard and picked the Cigar gloves from Knitty. I tried it on his hand so many times as I was knitting it but after I finished the entire glove, I realised that the glove was too small and the cuff kept riding up his hand. Grrrr!

So I thought he probably needed a different type of thumb gusset to fit him better and knitted up a pair of Ken gloves. I thought I was going alright. I finished the pair and then realised they were still small for him! The cuffs still ride up and some of the fingers are too short. I have underestimated how wide his hands were. I kept thinking that he has small hands because his fingers are the same length as mine, but his hands are wide, MUCH wider than mine. But Richard doesn’t complain. He says it fits him fine and they keep his hands very warm so he is happy. What a wonderful, appreciative husband!

Details on Ravelry

I have learnt an important lesson from knitting these gloves, beside measuring your recipient’s hand properly. The holes between the fingers annoys the heck out of me. I tried all sorts of different ways to reduce the size of the holes. But I figured the bottom line is to darn the holes properly. This Knitty article is very good at explaining how to fix those very bothersome holes up.

So I had a right hand Cigar glove which fitted me but not Richard. Drudgingly, I finished the other glove and I’m glad I did. It’s soooo warm and what a near perfect fit! I modified the pattern to be full fingered and also to included buttonholes on my right thumb and forefinger so that I can flip the glove tips over. Why? So I can sms, write and take my train ticket out of my pocket. I got the idea from other Ravelers who have done the same thing to their gloves. There are so many clever people out there!


Details on Ravelry

Subscribe to Salihan Crafts


Stumble It!

What’s Cooking

I’ve been busy and tired. Richard started a new job and is coming home much later than normal. Hence, I have to prepare dinner by myself (almost) everyday. We’re both still getting used to the routine of commuting to work. On top of that, Richard’s brother was in a car accident – more like he was hit by a BMW when riding his push bike to work! He’ll be out of hospital tomorrow after FOUR surgeries in TWO weeks. Poor boy. Then, the computer stopped working and Richard’s been too tired to reinstall Windows any earlier. Anddd on top of ALL that, I caught the flu. I’ve been slothing out on the sofa for the last two days now. I feel much better today and using my last few working brain cells to post this.

Chicken Jambalaya

It was very simple to make and delicious! I will definitely make this again. However, I found it not as nice the next day. So eat on same day if possible.
Recipe

Spinach & Ricotta Lasagna

Delicious but the ricotta cheese and white sauce can be a bit sickly. Serve in very small portions and with salad. A definite keeper. I wish I could share this recipe with you but it’s from Australian Good Taste (Aug ’07) magazine.

Cheesy Potato Bake

I half cooked frozen spinach, squeezed all the water out and layered it on top of the potatoes. It was sooo filling and despite looking overly cheesy, I don’t think it was. I will definitely make this again. Mmmm… Just the thought of it makes me lust for more.
Recipe

Apple Oat Bar

Not a fan of the nuts at the top and the soft texture but it was a hit with Richard. He preferred it to the No Bake Chocolate Oat Bar as he found the peanut butter too sickening after a couple of days. But since I don’t really like it, I’m not likely to make this again. Sorry love.
Recipe

Low Sugar Low Fat Muesli Bar

The hunt for the perfect muesli bar is over. I’m sticking to this recipe and making variations to this from now on. I added chocolate chips to this batch. The only small change I will make next time is to simmer the oats and weetbix in the orange syrup for a few minutes to soak in all the flavours. Two thumbs up!
Recipe

Orange Cordial

Cordial never tasted this good! I cannot recommend this enough. I used freshly squeezed oranges and added orange zest too. Absolutely beauuutifull! The last few days I warmed the made up cordial and added honey to it. Sore throat no more! Didn’t even need lozenges!
Recipe

Drive safely people and stay at home if you’re sick. Have a good week!

Subscribe to Salihan Crafts


Stumble It!