Thursday, March 31, 2011

Winter Evenings

I'm afraid to say the days are drawing in and the evenings getting colder which of course means one thing, winter! A season that many dread, but the knitter absolutely loves, well this knitter does. I mean there is nothing better than the wood fire glowing, knitting in hand and a nice drop of Irish Cream Whisky. Now in the past I have always made my own but this year I have discovered a wonderful Tasmanian made Whisky Cream Liqueur produced in Burnie at Hellyers Road Distillery. It is absolutely delicious and as they home deliver, two bottles made their way to Shazzas this week!


Ahhhhh knitting and whisky cream liqueur, life doesn't get much better than this.



I have also been working on another hat, this one is full of lovely cables which I adore knitting and made with a very soft luxurious pure wool, this is a must have for anyone who loves to wear a slouchy beret and is available at Etsy and Madeit.

Oh and here is my recipe for Irish Cream, till next time, happy knitting!

IRISH CREAM
1 small tin condensed milk
1 small carton of thickened cream (300ml)
1 cup good quality whisky
1/4 teaspoon of coconut essence (my friend prefers peppermint so either will do)
3 tablespoons of chocolate topping
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of instant coffee

Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor, bottle and store in the fridge.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Retro Food Mill


Asked my mother in law if she still had her food mill, sure enough she did! It had been retired after many years of making Dutch apple sauce and the workings were a bit rusty but a soak in brown vinegar together with a lot of scrubbing with the steel wool and the results are amazing, 'Mouli' is like new again.



and what better way to be put to use but making tomato sauce and relish with lovely tomatoes from the garden.

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

More Fruity Hats



Freshly picked Fruity Hats made from gorgeously soft Bendigo Luxury 8ply in traditional pastel baby shades, now I am not usually fond of pastel baby colours and would much prefer bright, but I am very happy with these.




Available in pink, blue, mint and yellow and made to order in sizes prem through to 2 years from Etsy and Madeit.

After our Torchwool get together the other night and seeing a very retro scarf hat or scoodie as they are referred to now, time to revisit another pattern and have cast on the winter warmers scarf hat in Oatmeal.

till next time, happy knitting!

Friday, March 04, 2011

Berets for Winter

I know that it sounds way too early to be talking winter, but here in Tassie at the moment it is f r e e z i n g!!!! So I have finally got some new hat designs out of my head and onto the needles ready for autumn/winter.

My love of feather and fan stitch finally found its way into this slouchy beret.



Crocheting granny squares, ahhhhh my favourite thing to do while sitting by the fire, so obviously this too has evolved into a beret.




These will be the staple hats at Shazzas Knits this year together with the diamond star beret.



Oh well at least the cold weather is great for knitting and crocheting so until next time, happy knitting!