Mittens and candy canes

I haven't been posting much recently as I can't :( I am taking part in some secret exchanges and so all my new stuff can't be shown just in case the person they are intended for sees them.

I have however been busy ferreting away with other stuff too including going and getting myself a new job woohoo. I am really looking forward to getting in the workforce again after being a stay at home mum for so long.

I have made some candy canes as a practice for Christmas. Here is how to make them. 

You will need:

One packet of ready made regal icing

Peppermint flavouring, red and green food colouring paste

soften your icing by kneading it until soft and pliable.

Add peppermint flavouring to taste I like mine quite strong and so used a lot, if the icing starts to become sticky add some icing sugar to firm up again.

Half the icing leaving half white, half the other half and colour one section green and the other red

When you have finished you should end up with something looking like this

 make a sausage of white and a thinner one of a colour

Twist together and roll to seal them together.

Put them onto a wire rack to dry out over night. store in a sealed container until required, they can last for months as long as they remain airtight.

you will end up with something like the ones below 

I have also made some mittens to go with the girls matching sets for Christmas. I couldn't find a pattern that would work for all three sets and so I came up with on of my own using a few other patterns I found. here is the result and underneath is the pattern.

Cast on 34 stitches using 4.5mm needles

row 1 knit 2 purl 2 to end

row 2 purl 2 knit 2 to end

repeat these two rows 9 times so you have 18 rows altogether

row 19 k2, p2

row 20 k2, p2, k2, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, p1, k2, p2, k1, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, p2,k2,p2, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k1, p2, k2, p1 increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k2, p2, k2. (you should now have 38 stitches)

row 21 knit to end repeat 5 more times

row 27 k18, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k18

row 28 knit to end

row 29 k20, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k20

row 30 knit to end

row 31 k21, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k21

row 32 knit to end

row 33 k22, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back,increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k22

row 34 knit to end

row 35 k23, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back k23

row 36 knit to end

row 37 k24, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k24

row 38 knit to end

row 39 (you should now have 52 stitches) k18, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, slip the next 14 stitches on to a stitch holder, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k18.

(leave the 14 stitches on holder as this is thumb)

At this point things change for each pair you are making as you only need to go as high as the top of the little finger for the person you are making for. measure from the top of the ribbing to the top of the little finger before starting to decrease. just knit each row to end to the required length.

to start decrease, 

row 1 knit 2 together, k8 repeat to end

 row 2 knit to end

row 3  knit 2 together, k7 repeat to end

row 4 knit to end

row 5  knit 2 together, k6 repeat to end

row 6 knit to end

row7  knit 2 together, k5 repeat to end

row 8 knit to end

row 9 knit 2 together, k4 repeat to end

row 10 knit to end

row 11 knit 2 together, k3 repeat to end
row 12 knit to end
row 13 knit 2 together to end
row 14 knit to end
row 15 cast off

For the thumb
Pick up the 14 stitches
row 1 increase one stitch by knitting into front and back, k12, increase one stitch by knitting into front and back,
row 2 - 10 knit to end
row 11 knit 2 together to end
cast off

Make up by sewing the seam along one side and on the thumb.

One last thing before I go is my TUSAL report which I am very late for :(

Getting Prepared

Jessica has had an accident this weekend :( She was playing in her Grandmas garden when she fell down some steps and did this.

My poor baby, apparently she barely cried, my kids are hard as nails lol.

I also had the shock of my life the other night too, now my pets can not stand each other well Ceefer the cat hates the dog, Benji just wants to play. However in a first ever they spent 4 whole hours like this

I was happy they were so comfortable together.

I have been looking in to what gifts we will be making for the adults in the family. I have now decided what we will be making. I have also been looking up options to help etc. I have found a recipe for home made glue stuff, which I have made up a batch and will see how it works.

One of the gifts (2 people are getting the same gift) require 5 glass bottles and so I have been searching all over for glass bottles as I will need 10 altogether. I need a size 250ml one and so I have been looking on Amazon and Ebay and all blooming over I also went around all my local shops to see if anyone sold something like what I wanted. So after killing 3 hours in this fruitless task all the ones I found were too expensive for my tastes I struck upon an idea. Asda sell bottles of olive oil, in the size that I need. So I have decided to buy 10 from there. Not only does this work out cheaper than buying empty bottles but I also end up with loads of olive oil :D I have decided that this extra oil I will now have will be the perfect gift for some foodie friends, as I am going to infuse them with flavours and put them into bottles as gifts too. (I know I will have to get more bottles but I think I will use the Asda bottles again and use that oil in my cooking) OK OK long winded way of doing it decanting oil from here to there and back again but I know what I mean lol.

So, now in my head I know what is being made for whom and can now get a calendar organised for getting everything done. Woohoo, I'm much more prepared this year than any other year!!

Ok the meeting season has started once again and so many of my evenings have been taken up with council business, (tonight being a highlight for me as it was with a rather handsome police officer, yummy, no officer I don't mind at all that the meeting ran over, now what were you saying before I lost myself in your eyes??lol) but I have managed to get some stitching done too. Here is my day by day updates.

Day 29

Day 30

Day 31

Day 32

This is as far as I have gotten, as you can see it is almost finished now another week or so and it will be done yay me!

It is also TUSAL time again so here it is

Anyway time for bed for me speak soon x

Double update

I haven't done much on 'The Wedding' over the last two days as  (this section has been removed as it mentions my OH)  and Jade have been doing 'their bit'. It almost killed me letting them take over, I was not a happy bunny lol. Here they are giving it a go.

Thing is  (this section has been removed as it mentions my OH)  really got into it and continued for a couple of hours, while I sat twiddling my thumbs.

Here is the result at the end of Friday

And this is it at the end of Saturday

As you can see, there is more of the white at the top done (that's all I would trust  (this section has been removed as it mentions my OH)  to do without supervision lol.  (this section has been removed as it mentions my OH)  managed around 150 stitches in 2 and 1/2 hours)

We took the girls to the cinema on Saturday to see Top Cat, they do a family special film where it costs just £1 per person (of course if you are like me you will sign up on line and get yourself a further 10% discount)

The younger girls loved it, Jade not so much and I fell asleep half way through.  (this section has been removed as it mentions my OH)  was my pillow lol.

When we got home from the cinema we were greeted by these

Jessica liked the yellow one Emily liked the orange one. We made flags with them here are the girls doing just that.

 

 In other news Kerry has finished her cross stitch. She is very proud of it and I must say for her first one she has done very well. 

Can't wait for her to give it to Jade as she is so excited about it. 

I have also joined a group that takes photos of their waste jars, so you will see the label TUSAL and a picture like this.

For more information about what this is about then go here to read up more about it.

Anyway off now to cook a Sunday dinner! woohoo getting excited about it how sad am I?

Speak soon x