Apple Lamington Trifle

Well what do you do when you have a bowl full of home grown apples and some rather stale lamingtons? Well you make trifle of course.
Don't laugh anything is possible if you try.
I put the lamingtons in the bottom of a rectangular casserole dish, poured over some tawny port as you do:) Made some egg custard and poured that over the lamingtons. Next I threw in some frozen berries I found in the freezer. Then I proceeded to stew the apples while they were cooling down I whipped 2 egg whites til soft peaks formed and mixed them through the apple. When I was at high school we made this in Home Economics class and it was called Apple Snow. This was spread over the top of the custard... Voila...Barb's Apple Trifle. We could not wait for the custard to set...don't think it is going to actually and had some for lunch. Yummo was the verdict. Made enough to last us a week...LOL It does not look very pretty but that did not affect the flavour.

Knitting nightmare for 2013

Who would think an instruction as simple as *P1 Slip 1* rpt to end of row then repeat this row for 9cm would prove to be SO difficult. The fact that I was knitting in acrylic chenille style yarn (where it is impossible to see what you have actually done in the previous rows) must have had something to do with the trouble I had but I just could not knit the required 9cms. I reckon I ripped it out 10 times before throwing it in the corner and waiting until the next day to pick it up and try again.
Here is the result. A Blanket Bunny Buddy. It is about 43cms long, not including its ears. The bit I had all the trouble with was the head and it turns out to be a tube that you stuff.
http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/50722.html?noImages

First Post for 2013

Happy New Year Everyone!
My first project for the year is actually a knitted Christmas tree.  I know I am either rather late or VERY early but I saw the pattern and just had to give it a go. I found the pattern on
www.justcraftyenough.com/2011/08/project-potted-button-trees
I made the smallest size using a 12ply synthetic yarn. A 3 1/2 inch terra cotta pot was the smallest I could find. The buttons and charms I had in my craft stash. I used some fibre fill for the snow and sprinkled it with white glitter

Knitted Reindeer

I fell in love with the crocheted reindeer that my friend Hermine made
http://herminesplace.wordpress.com/2012/11/19/rendiertjelittle-reindeer/
but unable to read the pattern (in dutch) and only possessing very basic crocheting skills when I came across a pattern for a knitted reindeer...I just had to give it a go.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/little-christmas-reindeer-rudolfino

I made my first one out of scraps of 4ply sock yarn...I found it in my stash and think it belonged to Auntie Erna (who died in 2001). Then when I was showing him off to Auntie Bett 2 of the staff in her nursing home facility showed a great interest in them.
I got some 5ply wool in browns and made 2 more! Quick to knit up but fiddly to sew together! They each have their own personality I think. The finished length of Rudolfino is approx 16cm (6 inches) the other 2 are a couple of inches longer.

Strawberry Santas

Last month at ATC night Natalie showed us a photo of strawberry santas she thought she would like to make. Well I came home and thought I could do that too.
So for Mike's birthday tea dessert I made these little fellows. So cute and yummy too.

I made them with whipped cream but reckon you could use cream cheese instead.

Ribbon card

I was given this gorgeous Owl card for my birthday by my friend Carol and thought I would like to try this idea.
A friend's son and his wife have just had their first baby so thought this is my chance and here is what I made.

No where near as much work as in Carol's creation  but lots of work all the same..reckon she has the patience of a saint! I made my own papers then cut them out on the Cricut. Ribbons came from my stash.

Illusion Knitting

I have been doing a lot of knitting over winter and just keep finding new things to inspire me. I joined an online group called Knitters Paradise
http://www.knittingparadise.com/
...I am a lurker but enjoy hearing and seeing what others are knitting. Heard about "illusion" knitting and after finding some free patterns on Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/
I thought I would have a go.
My first effort was a face/dish cloth with a pink breast awareness ribbon on it.
Then I saw a pattern for a piano keyboard scarf and thought this would be perfect for my friend Beth as a 60th birthday present. As a music teacher and Collingwood football fan (team colours being black and white) it ticked all the boxes!

I could not stop at one :) Next project was a Tardis scarf for my SIL who is a Dr Who fanatic. My daughter came shopping with me to find the wool ...she was most insistant I find just the right colour...we did our best.

The recipients were both excited about their scarves:)