Food! Glorious food!

Happy Chinese New Year!

It's come to my attention that this blog is become more about my little creations and have neglected the food part. So, I'm going to compile it all under the one post now.

It's too bad that I can't make changes to where I want the photos to go unless I am using an actual computer. I do apologise if it gets too messy.

Where do I start? I have 5 photos to share with you. I shall work my way around them all and having to shorten it all into a paragraph each. Everyone knows the saying 'a picture says a thousand words'

The first one was taken at the 'Pancake Place' in Dundee. This was my brunch one Sunday afternoon before driving back to Aberdeen for work. There was quite a bit of variety to choose from in terms of pancake's wise. However, I spotted the 'rocky road' one from my previous visit. I really wanted to try it the next time I was in Dundee. This was 3 pancakes stacked up with marshmallows and chocolate sauce with ice cream. It was yummy indeed and it wasn't too sweet which was surprising. I absolutely live marshmallows when they have been heated up a little to make them gooey inside. However, it is rather filling and I couldn't even finish it all.

The next 2 photos underneath are taken from 'Oko Express' in Glasgow. I had a great girly day out with one of my closest friends. It was one of their special bento box and a sushi roll. It was a while ago so I can't quite remember the names of the food I had there. It may look like there is a lot to eat but I think I managed to eat all of it since I was really hungry that day after a whole day of retail therapy and having to drive back up to Aberdeen.

This isn't too bad going considering I have now covered 3/5 photos. Every one of see photos do bring back fond memories which are now going through my mind.

Next, this was a meal that was prepared by the chefs in 'China Garden' in Hadleigh. It was the week where I went to England for a little holiday around September 2012. The food was great but there wasn't quite enough to go round for everyone. To be fair, you can't have too much of good food. This meal was mainly seafood which I love as that is what I was brought up to eat. Typical Chinese.

The last photo now. His was taken just for fun.. It was to show how much food John and I would order if we were extremely hungry. I think this photo only shows about 3/4 of what we actually ate that night after a day out in Brighton. I was a little bit disappointed with the pork chop that I had. I think I was expecting a different sauce to go with it. Anyways, it was great but I was getting really full by the time I got to the main course. We like to have all the food brought out when they are ready rather than having different courses.

I think this is it for this post. :) I hope this post hasn't been too boring. Take care until the next time.

10 weeks labour...

Is this my first post for this year? Well, happy 2013 to everyone who reads this post of mine.

I must say that this cardigan (shown below) has taken 10 weeks to knit up and there has been a bit of hesitation on deciding if I really wanted to use the yarn that it asked for. I can say it is really worth that little bit extra money. I tend to have a taste for the more expensive stuff in comparison to what my budget normally is. However, I seem to manage to talk myself into going for the stuff at the top end of the market. 

This cardigan is knitted with Artesano Aran wool which is made up of 50% alpaca and 50% wool. Lush. 

Today, I finally managed to  get some buttons to finish the garment and it looks too good. =) It should be good enough to keep me warm for the rest of the wintery season in the UK.This cardigan makes me very proud. 

This cardigan has taught me a new skill, 3 needle cast off.

Spiral rib hat

This was another quick knit that I found online. This hat was knitted up very quickly for a friend's son.

I was given a scarf that his granny made home whilst in Hong Kong. My mission was to find yarn that was similar to the colour baby blue. I didn't know where to start looking. I popped along to my local yarn store to look for some clues. To my surprise the girl knew what it was and advised that it may be slightly different in colour die to the dye lot.

I was quite happy with the yarn so I bought some of it and started to knit. It was so soft to touch and I'm sure it would keep the child very warm in the winter.

Owl keyring

After a few months if not posting, 2012 has slipped past me and 2013 has begun without me knowing. Happy new year to my readers, whoever you are. :)

Who else thinks that January is a bad time to have a birthday? I think it's horrid. Simply it's right after the festive season of Christmas and new year. Most people I would imagine would have spent a lot of money on gifts and food. However, I do feel sympathy for their mums who had to carry them inside their bodies over the festive time and probably not able to have a few drinks.

Anyways, I made this owl keyring for a girl that I work with in the restaurant. She brings me joy when I need it and probably the one that I can wind up the most. I hope she'll love this little owl. It's not perfect I know but it's just a wee gift.

Cool cables

Time has flown by really quickly.. I can't believe it's been 1 year since I properly picked up a crochet hook and knitting needles. It's been a year since I've discovered my local yarn store in my city. Throughout the year I have made a few things and have ventured out to some of stitches that I thought was impossible for me to grasp. However, I have taken on the challenge of cabling whilst knitting and I have made the cushion cover below.

There have been mistakes made simply by not paying attention to which row I was knitting. This has been created with rowan all season cotton. The pattern was found in a magazine from the collection that I have at home.

The wool itself was very smooth to work with and it gives a great stitch definition especially in the cabled parts if the cover .

UGG booties

Recently I had the urge to buy the newest knitting magazines but I wasn't quite into the Christmas season yet.. One night after work on my way home I went to my local 24 hour supermarket. I had a sneak look down their News and Magazines aisle and found two of my fave knitting magazines and automatically picked them up. I continued my shopping around the store not for much longer though. 

As soon as I got home, I was getting ready to snuggle up in my bed with my magazines. I jumped straight to the front where you see photos of what the magazine had patterns for. I instantly fell in love with their UGG style booties... I also got good Christmas present ideas from it too. 

Next day, I browse online to see what deals I could get for buying all the wool that I required to make my own UGG booties and presents. I know this isn't significant but it was Wool Week. What does this mean? I got discount on any wool or wool blend yarn. As I wasn't looking to getting the stated wool mentioned in any of the patterns I had to choose from a page of suggested substitute wool. Once I chosen which brand which one would be a reasonable price, I only had one problem with choosing the colour I wanted to get for each one. I love personalising my gifts. In the end I chose Debbie Bliss Paloma in Mallard along with Rowan British Sheep Boucle. 

I can't wait to wear these during the cold and long winter nights.  They are so cosy even though they are a little bit loose but it makes it easier to get my feet in and out of them. =)

little creations

I have made these little creations earlier on this year but never really got round to putting these up...



Mobile phone sock




Cable detail

 The phone sock design is a perfect fit for almost any phone as demonstrated above. I really love the cable twist in this design as it adds a bit of texture to the knitting. This was knitted with an acrylic double knit wool in fuschia.

coin purse



Bobble coin purse

 Above, is something that I created using a very simple stitch found in my Stich Collection book. This purse was inspired from seeing a similar purse somewhere. It is perfect for using up some of the yarn that I had left over from the mary jane slippers. I absolutely love the bobbles in this stitch and the fabric used to add a bit of strength to the actual purse. It also ensures that no coins could escape too. If anyone is interested in this purse then let me know =)

With winter on the way now I also have these cute owl mittens below

Owl mittens

This is a pattern that I found in a magazine so I didn't design this one. I just used a different colour of yarn, Artesano Aran. This is lovely and soft to the skin and it keeps your hands warm when it gets chilly outside. This would make a perfect gift for Christmas....