French Wedding FO - my something blue

Four sleeps until the first wedding ceremony (the legal one at the town hall, not to be confused with the Saturday one at the Church...), and I have finally finished the garter I talked about.

Here are some pictures of the work-in-progress. Admittedly they are not the best due to the constraints of my blackberry, but I think they give a good idea of what it looks like.

I used 2mm knitting needles and the Anchor Artiste BABY SOFT Crochet Cotton yarn, I tried with the metallic version and had loads of problems. In the end I did 17 repeats of the pattern - instead of the 22 suggested by the pattern, but it all depends on one's thighs (mine are definetely not small though) and the needles used. I added one more 'track' lace pattern in the middle so that I could achieve the bleu-blanc-rouge effect...

I forgot the ruban that was going to hide the elastic band, so had to improvise with what my Mum had at home. It works but it is not ideal. I had bought a silky ruban matching the colour of the yarn... It is waiting for me in England whilst I am in France - very useful!

Two weeks and a half to go

Busy, Busy, busy... Unfortunately not with crafts projects but it is exciting all the same! Yes, M and I have finally moved in together. It took us 5 years a half... moving separately to different European countries ... many more flights... but it all happened before the wedding (just), yeah! Saving us from awkward questions from members of the family. I suppose they will move on to the next question, involving babies – my family has no shame!

Anyway, I do have a couple of projects on the go – although lost in the numerous unopened boxes stored conveniently in the spare bedroom so I don’t have to see them (the boxes that is, not the WIPs). One project is for the wedding though, so I really need to dig it up. It is a patriotic version of the Knitted Lace Wedding Garter by Diane Willett. Hope I will be able to post the first pictures this weekend. Wish me luck!

Through the post

I talked about my hen do last Friday, and it has all been and gone now... But during the hen do I had the chance at having a go at glassblowing in Bath. Here is the wonderful result that came through the post today. My first handmade bauble for our Christmas tree! And in the colour scheme of the wedding!!

It is Friday!

I am very, very, very excited today, because it is Friday - which means it is the end of the week - but also because at 5pm this evening, my Hen do is going to start. The theme is Parisian Chic; the colours: red, white and blue and I had to find some strippy tops. Such a cool theme! I still have a few hours to go ... Oh yes, I forgot to mention I still don't know where we are going, except that we are staying in England!

Also I have finshed the mystery project, and there is no sock in sight... Here are some pictures...






The pattern is by Liz Thopmson called the Berry Hill fingerless mittens and available for free on ravelry. It took me no time at all to knit the mittens in this gorgeous Mirasol Hacho yarn. I only used one skein (dpns 4mm).

I made a couple of changes. Because my hands are quite small, I casted on 36 stitches. I made one more repeat of the cuff pattern, and left aside 16 stitches for knitting the thumb. It is great for wearing mid-season or when I am jogging outside in the morning. And I do have them in my bag for this weekend!

Have a good weekend! Moi xxx

Tea time

A nice cup of time with (a lot of) milk. Add some oat biscuits I did over the weekend, and a new (colourful) knitting project... and here you have it, the perfect tea break.



Can you guess what I am knitting? It will all be revealed soon (a bit more knitting to do)!

Le citron gris

It looks great, and it was fun until the last repeat and the actual bind off. It is no surprise that I am the 2488th raveler (I am a bit slow really) who knitted the citron. It is a bit on the short side for me (I did not have it in me to add another repeat), but my Grandma is going to love it! Thanks to Meghan who has done a pink version of the citron!

Also ran our of gray yarn in the end, and added a blue edge to it.

It works out quite well I think, adds another dimension (although subtle, it was between a blue or pink edge..) to the shawl.

Worth doing but just once for me.

Desert of the week - White chocolate and strawberry cake

I have finally managed to bake the chocolate sponge cake recipe from the Olive Magazine (April 2010 issue). I don't like dark chocolate cakes so here is a white chocolate version...

This is a super easy recipe, and the cake looks super cute.

You need (for 10 people):

• For the sponge cakes (2)
  

175g sifted self-raising flour
30g white chocolate chips
175g unsalted butter, softened completely
175g golden caster sugar
1tsp baking powder
3 eggs
2 tbsp or more milk (it depends on how creamy your mixture is)

• Filling

Strawberries
300ml double cream ( next time I will put much less to be honest)
red food colouring

• Icing

100g white chocolate
150g mascarpone

1. Heat the oven to 180C. Butter and base-line 2x20cm sandwich tins.
2. Put all the sponge cake ingredients in a large bowl and beat them together until you have a creamy mixture. Add milk if the mix is too stiff - it should fall easily from the spoon.
   
3. Divide the mixture between the tins and level the surfaces of the cake mixtures.
   
4. Bake on the same shelf in the oven for 20-25 mns or until the sponge springs back when pressed.
5. Cool for 5 mns, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
   
6. To make the icing, melt the white chocolate and fold it into the mascarpone.
   
7. Whip the cream, add the colouring. For the filling, add a layer of strawberries, a layer of the whipped cream.
   
8. Spread the chocolate icing over the top of the cake, some will rin over the edge. And decorate.
   

Et voilà!