Edda - cable knit cardigan

Do you know, I have only just realised this very minute that despite the fact that Edda has been finished for two months that I haven't blogged about it at all? Shame on me!

I actually purchased the yarn to make this up about 3 years ago, and when I found it in my stash around September last year I decided it was exactly the kind of knit I felt like doing. It would be fairly quick, had some cables and the yarn was a merino/silk/cashmere blend. What more could a girl ask for? Plus, since the yarn had been languishing in my stash, it almost felt like I was getting a cardigan for free!

This was a pretty fun knit. It had enough going on to make it interesting, without being overwhelming. I did have one hiccup halfway through, when I realised that I had twisted one of my cables the wrong way, but I just grit my teeth, frogged, and started over again.

I'm quite liking how it turned out. It's perfect for wearing over a summer dress to protect you from the harsh UV rays, but airy enough to not feel hot. Plus it goes with all the red and pink in my wardrobe. Winner!

Project Details
Pattern: Edda, from Whisper by Kim Hargreaves
Yarn: 6 balls of Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk Aran in shade 0167
Needles: 4mm, 4.5mm, cable needle

Green drop stitch scarf

Since it's so hot that there's nothing to do but stay hunkered down inside with the blinds drawn, one may as well get some knitting projects/gifts finished!

 

Project Details
Pattern: Drop Stitch Scarf from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2012 (I made another version last year)
Yarn: Two hanks of Shibui Cima (70% superbaby alpaca, 30% fine merino wool) in lime, purchased from Woolarium.
Needles: 3.25mm

Apart from a baby cardigan that is also languishing in the 'to be finished' pile, that's it for knitted gifts from me this year. I've got too much pattern drafting and test knitting to do, so I shall have to be strong and stop offering to knit things for other people. That's easier said than done for me, as I have a tendency to always offer, especially if somebody is having a bub. But I must be strong, like a focussed knitting Jedi, whose mission is to provide awesome patterns to the world!!!

Good grief, I think I've been stuck inside too long. Knitting Jedi indeed. It's the heat... it's melting my brain!

Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

What's better than sitting down to a big fat slice of cheesecake? Slurping it up as an ice cream instead! I'm not even an ice cream kinda girl, but this is so darn good I'm going to have to padlock the freezer to stop myself guzzling it up in one go.

Best of all, this was so incredibly simple to make that I can see it becoming summer's default dessert. Instead of making a custard from scratch, and then freezing it, à la traditional ice cream, this was just mixed together in the mix master. No oven involved! Which, frankly, is a blessing for a week that is forecast to contain 3 days over 40 C. If anybody wants me, I'll be slumped next to the freezer, wondering out aloud if it's time for ice cream yet. Probably joined by Tyger and Galumph, if last night's devouring of this ice cream was any indication of appreciation.

Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

250g Philadelphia cheese, softened
1/2 cup raw caster sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries, partially thawed.

1 - Place the cream cheese in the large bowl of a mix master along with the sugar, and beat together until smooth.

2 - Add the milk and cream, and mix until combined, with no lumps remaining.

3 - Churn the mixture in an ice cream machine, following the manufacturers instructions. With 5 minutes of churning remaining, add the raspberries through the slot.

4 - Pour into a container, and freeze until required. To serve, take out 5 minutes beforehand to thaw.

All white, all night

The Tyger has been asking me for quite some time to make her a nightie, and has been very particular about the details. It had to be white. Preferable old-fashioned ("Like something Lizzie or Jane would wear!"), and if could incorporate some lace or embroidery, then so much the better.

Oh, and if I could get that whipped up before a big sleepover party scheduled for (gulp!) tomorrow that would be just terrific!

So today was spent fabric shopping, quickly fabric washing (thank goodness for supersunny days), fabric cutting, fabric overlocking, and finally some fabric sewing. I think Miss Elizabeth Bennet herself would be very well pleased indeed with the results. I myself am very pleased with our fabric find. The cotton features embroidered flowers plus a gorgeous long lace edging, and was an absolute bargain at only $5.95 a metre!

Since we were going for a slight old-style look, we decided to have some fun with the camera, and do some spooky shots. Check out Tyger doing her very best ghost catwalking!

Project Details
Pattern - Pattern #12 from Ottobre Design Magazine 2/2005 (same pattern used for this dress)
Fabric - 2m of cotton with embroidery and lace edging from Rathdowne Fabrics
Notions - Elastic for sleeve edges and neckline

Wrist warmers

What do you get when you combine some spare green yarn, a pair of 4.5mm needles, a very determined young lady and copious school holiday free time? A pair of wrist warmers, solely designed and knit by Tyger herself!

I used to laugh when she told me that when she grew up she'd like to own a yarn store. I'm laughing no more, and beginning to scope out capital investors!

Monthly menu plan - December/January + shortbread!

Monthly menu for you, and some shortbread for my dad, who is coming to visit. Yay!

Week 1
Monday - Apricot chicken with sweet potato
Tuesday - New Year's Eve. We had roasted pumpkin and carrot soup with yoghurt, roast chicken, heirloom tomato salad, asparagus + pea + snowpea + lemony feta salad, potato salad, and finished with lemon curd cheesecake. Burp!
Wednesday - Feta, vegetable and rice bake
Thursday - Frittata with peas, mint and ricotta, plus green salad
Friday - Paneer with peas and beans, on brown rice
Saturday - Cauliflower felafels with carrot yoghurt salad
Sunday - Beef and bean mix on homemade masa harina burritos with cheesy chilli and lime corn cobs

Week 2
Monday - Thai green chicken curry on brown basmati rice
Tuesday - Chana dhal with chickpea flour pancakes, and mango lassi
Wednesday - Indian pilaf with eggs
Thursday - Tofu and vegetable rice paper rolls, with coconut sago pudding with passionfruit
Friday - Baked maple glazed salmon with wilted spinach
Saturday - Spring minestrone with brown rice
Sunday - Roasted sumac pumpkin and feta soft homemade tacos

Week 3
Monday - Lentil tabouleh with haloumi
Tuesday - Asparagus risotto with garden salad
Wednesday - Spicy potato cakes with tomato and bocconcini salad
Thursday - Butter chicken rice pie
Friday - Miso glazed fish with sesame brown rice salad

Resolutions

Hello friends! Here we are on the other side of the great Christmas/New Year divide, and I for one am feeling fine! I have so many amazing things that I want to achieve in 2014, so I thought that I would post them here, not only so I can refer back to them when they are not so fresh in my mind, but also so I can give myself a quick, swift kick up the ass if I'm not getting them done! So without any further fanfare, here are the things I want to do in twenty-fourteen:

- Read more books. I finished the year on a reading high, having thoroughly enjoyed The Rosie Project, Oil and Honey, Miss Hargreaves and The Two Mrs Abbots. If you've read something fabulous lately, I'd love to hear your recommendations!

- Make a cherry pie. I even bought myself a cherry stoner in the sales. That's a job for next week, I reckon!

- Eat more grains. We've figured out that the Galumph is mildly gluten-intolerant. He can handle a wee bit of gluten (like in his porridge oats) but not much, so we have made a deal: generally no gluten at home, except for the odd homemade baked treat or pasta dish. Having trialled this over the last couple of weeks, it's gone well, so I'm excited to be incorporating more gluten-free grains into our lives. We've been having the most marvellous blueberry quinoa porridge as a change in the mornings - loving the long, slow energy from that tasty dish!

- Eat more fruit. I know, I know - I say this one every year, but I've made a huge effort to eat my two pieces every day of late, and I am feeling so good for it. More fruit!

- Sayonara booze. Remember a couple of years ago I decided that coffee and I were no longer friends, and I kicked it to the curb? Well, it seems alcohol and I have had a similar falling out. I feel so sluggish and crap the day after even one glass, so I'm going to make 2014 alcohol free as I just don't think it agrees with me anymore. I'm going to miss it, but I have a feeling that better energy levels and awesome sleep will more than make up for it.

- Bring back the plastic free. Unfortunately plastic has slowly but surely crept back into our lives since we went plastic free for a month in 2007 (can you believe I've been blogging that long? Cripes!), so I am going to try and eliminate as much plastic from our day-to-day lives as I can throughout 2014. In a similar vein, I'm also going to try and reduce the amount of waste we create in general, such as food waste.

- Blog more. Cos it's fun around here!

- Be a lean, mean, budget queen. I want to use what I have rather than fork out for something new, and if I do have to buy something I'd like it to be recycled and/or ethically made.

- Get out those vintage patterns. I think 2014 should be the year of sewing vintage! Each month I'd like to sew or knit a vintage pattern, and bring a little old school elegance into my life. Should we do a vintage-a-long? That could be wicked fun!

- Do more bike rides. Preferably whilst wearing a vintage dress. Cos that's how I wanna roll! (Get it? Roll? My word, I'm even funnier this year than last!)

- Launch my knitting pattern collection. Wrists, I'm warning you now: I'm going to be doing a LOT of knitting in preparation for my launch later this year. But any wrist ache will totally be worth it. I am SO SUPER EXCITED about this!

Wow. I sure have a busy year lined up! I hope that 2014 brings you much happiness and joy, and if you are in need of a daft joke, don't forget to stop by here!