Knitting fun – learning to knit from patterns and adjusting them to fit your need

Last year I completed a knitting course and it was my favourite course to date.  We had a fantastic group, an amazing teacher and we all enjoyed and learnt so much over the 10 weeks.  I have been trying to keep up my knitting skills since then and have found knitting for people is the best way to do it as you have motivation to make something, if you give it as a birthday present you have a deadline to work towards and I make the time to get it finished.

For Christmas my husband bought me a knitting book which contains everything you need to know and I have used it a lot when reading new patterns and trying new techniques. The book is a fair size and has a number or post it notes in pages to guide me back and forth between sections as I attempt a new stitch or embellishment.

So far I have made a few Christmas decorations and three different types of scarves, all short neck scarves with a different finish or fastening.  I have enjoyed making them and I have even been able to adjust the patterns to fit the design I want to achieve by reducing the width of the knit, adding button holes and I have also learnt how to knit a cover for a button.

My husband has asked if I can knit him a scarf and I think he would probably prefer a full length scarf rather than a mini neck scarf so I need to build myself up to start that one.  I would like to find a pattern with different stitches and techniques in so I can keep challenging myself and make him something unique, his birthday is in October so I have a while.

 

knitted neck scarf

knitted neck scarf

knitted neck scarf

practicing stiches

practicing stiches

practicing stiches

Mini neck scarf!!

my new knitting bag

Nect scarf in action

Christmas tree

 

My birthday cakes made with love by my sister, niece and friend

I often get asked did I have to make my own birthday cake however I am lucky enough to have amazing friends and family who make me a cake for my birthday and on more than one occasion I have received more than one cake!

This year my niece and sister got busy making a delicious chocolate sponge with chocolate filling.  My niece has really been getting into all her baking and if we have time we often get together in the kitchen to make something.  My older niece who is 17 has become very talented in the kitchen and tries her hand at anything and it always seems to come out fantastic.  She lives down south and was not able to come up north for the birthday celebrations but she guided my sister and niece through the cake baking process and helped them with the recipe and instructions – excellent team work!

The cake was decorated in more chocolate with chocolate stars on top.  It was absolutely delicious and  we had cake as desert after a gorgeous home cooked birthday meal with the family, made by my brother-in-law on the weekend before my birthday.  I was very proud of their creation and hard work they had put in to making it and it was delicious.

 

On my actual birthday we had friends over as it was mid-week and my amazingly talented friend Lou Lou gave me an amazing cake made as a woven basket with knitting needles and wool.  Each year she makes me a fantastic cake using her skills she has developed over the last few years baking cakes of all shapes and sizes.  The cake was vanilla sponge with banana flavoured frosting.  It was massive and also had more cake on top as the wool was made from chocolate chip muffins covered in icing.  We all had some as part of our birthday tea then I made sure everyone got some birthday cake to take home. After everyone had gone we still had lots of cake left which lasted us a good few days as desert after tea.

Check out her facebook page to see some of the amazing cakes she has made.