Happy Easter!

FO: Clair Bennet

Pattern: Clair Bennet (rav. link) by Ariane Caron-Lacoste
Yarn: Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed- Colourway Jewel
Needle Size: 4.5mm/US 7
Notions: Two 1940's vintage buttons from The Button Bower
Alterations: 1) The cardigan body was knitted in one piece up to the underarms, then
each piece was finished separately.
2) I didn't need to pick up as many stitches on the button bands.
3) The sleeves were grafted onto the body rather than sewn on.

I originally made this cardigan because I really liked the long ribbed neck, which I thought would be great in winter, but once the cadigan was finished I found that it also looked good with the neck turned down which is perfect for the cool but not yet cold autumn weather.


I also love any pattern that incorporates large buttons!

In the Kitchen

I seem to mainly post about knitting, so I thought this week I would talk about another interest of mine, cooking. I really only became interested in cooking a few years ago, before that I found cooking to be such a chore, I'm not sure what changed my opinion but I think it had a lot to do with a) my love of gardening and realising the importance of eating seasonally and b) my discovery of travel cookbooks.


I love food with a lot of flavour and I love cooking with spices and fresh herbs, I will never forget going to visit the Egyptian Spice Bazaar in Istanbul, ahhhh the smell was just heavenly all those wonderful spices! However I have found a much smaller substitute, the Fiji market in Newtown (see He Needs Food blog for great photos and write up on the market and all things culinary), smaller yes, but they have a HUGE selection of spices, just about every spice under the sun! I assure you that's no exaggeration.

So this weekend I cooked sweet-sour lamb yahni with black-eyed peas and almonds, a recipe from Greg Maloufs cookbook Turquoise. The recipe called for sour cherries, which I couldn't find anywhere, so I substituted them for cranberries (frozen cranberries) which just looked so good I had to take a photo, and in the end worked really well as a sour cherry substitute.

On the menu tonight...mushroom risotto with a garden salad and dry white wine!

Still Life Sunday

Yesterday I picked the last rose out of the garden and put it in a cup on the kitchen window sill. I love seeing the light from the window pass through the petals.

FO Toast

Pattern: Toast by Leslie Friend
Needle Size: 4mm/US6
Yarn: Valley Yarn Northfield (DK, Colourway- Charcoal)

I have been knitting a lot of larger projects lately and needed something simple and quick, so I cast on for this project and within 2 days of relaxing in front of the TV at night, I have a pair of super soft arm warmers. I really love the yarn, its (as you probably already know) one of Webs house-brand yarns and is a mixture of silk, alpaca and merino. I'm so impressed with this yarn I have decided to use it to make the cardigan Manu (Ravelry link) which calls for a soft DK yarn.

Speaking of yarn, the skeins in the photo are my own hand-dyed yarn. I have always played around with yarn dying, but lately it's become a real interest so much so that I have amassed quite a number of skeins and am now exploring the possibility of selling on Etsy. It's either this or fill the house full of lovely insulating yarn! Anyhow I'll see how it goes.