May Goals - Review

1. Complete the IronMay triathlon
We have completed 1.4 IronMan triathlons this month. This would have been a great deal easier if my local swimming pool had been open.

2. Have a total of 150 green knitted squares
Done. 151 squares.

3. Finish Muppet baby quilt
This has not been quilted. Knitting has been happening in preference.

4. Make a sweater for Stitch
The sweater has been started. Baby cardigans have been knitted instead.

Aromatic Chicken

Ingredients
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
pinch pepper
2 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp soy sauce
2 Tsp olive oil
2 Tsp cider vinegar
1 lemon 
1kg of mini chicken breasts

Method

Mix all of the spices in the dish where the chicken will be marinaded. Add the soy sauce, olive oil and cider vinegar. Cut the lemon into eighths, and squeeze the juice into the marinade, and add the rest of the lemon. 

Add the chicken breasts, coating them evenly in the marinade. Leave for 4 hours, or more, even overnight.

Cook the chicken breasts on a barbecue, in the oven, or in a skillet with some oil. Serve with potato salad and various salads, or rice and vegetables.

Notes
If gluten-free soy sauce is used, the recipe is gluten-free.

It's Such a Perfect Day

A youtuber mentioned 36 Questions - How to Fall In Love - 36 questions you can ask someone if you want to fall in love, or make your love even stronger). They start out very simply, but the fourth question had me pondering for quite some time, "What would constitute a perfect day for you?"

Thinking about what would be a perfect day is making me rather happy. I'm picking and choosing elements, doubling back, making substitutions, and having a lovely time.

So far, my day has reached breakfast time. It starts with being woken up by the sun streaming into my bedroom, and then very quickly this transitions into snuggles and hugs with the Beloved. After a decent period of time, Ava would transform the snuggles into a dogpile. 

This is the point in my cogitations when the Beloved entered the room with a pot of tea. We started  discussing the questions, and had a lot of fun doing so. We have decided to take one question each day, discuss it, and then I'll blog about it. 

IronMay Complete!

We have done it!  The Challenge has been completed, and with two days to spare.

Between the two of us, we have swum 2.4 miles, cycled 120 miles, and walked/ran  150 miles. We're 8 miles over on the cycling, and broken the walking goal many times over. I gave up entering my miles for walking as it wasn't going to make much difference.

We are done! It's happened. My back feels happier. 

And, I know what needs to happen now. I need to be completing an IronMan each and every months. A mile of walking, and 4 miles of cycling each day, and swimming half a mile each week, and that's all it is. It's hard whilst my local pool is out of action, but hopefully it will be operational again in July. 

Top Down Garter Stitch Jacket With Lapels

Yarn: King Cole Fashion Aran Combo

Composition: 30% wool, 70% acrylic

Colour: 2343 Hint of Berries

Pattern: Based on Top Down Garter Stitch Baby Jacket

Size: 24 months

Needles: 5mm

Amount used: 300g

Started: 24th May 2018

Finished: 1st June 2019

Abbreviations
sts	stitches
s1p	slip 1 stitch purlwise
k	knit
k	knit
yo	yarn over
pm	place marker

Collar Cast on 46sts. The first stitch in every row is slipped, purlwise. Work 14 rows of garter stitch. On the 15th and 16th rows, cast on 5 stitches at the end of each row. (56sts) The 17th and 18th rows are garter stitch.

Raglan Shaping
1. S1p, k12, yo, pm, k2, pm, yo, k2, yo, pm, k2, pm, yo, k18, yo, pm, k2, pm, yo, k2, yo, pm, k2,pm, yo, k13.
2. S1p, knit.

The four Raglan 'seams' are indicated by the stitch markers. These seams will always be 2 sts wide, and the sections on either side of the seams with grown with each row of increases.

3. S1p, (k to marker, yo, slip marker, k2, slip marker, yo) 4 times, k to end.
4. S1p, knit.
Repeat rows 3 and 4, until there are 168sts. This will have created 14 increase rows. Finish this section by repeating row 2 twice.

Separating body and sleeves
S1p, k27sts, cast on 4 sts. Transfer 32sts for the first sleeve onto waste yarn or a stitch holder. Knit 46sts, and cast on 4sts. Transfer 32sts for the second sleeve onto waste yarn or a stitch holder. Knit 28sts. You should have a total of 112sts for the body.

Body
The body is made by working with the 112st. On the first row, make a button hole: S1p, k2, yo, k2tog, k to end, and then work 19 rows of S1p, k to end. Make 3 button holes in this manner, separated by 19 rows garter stitch. After the 3rd button hole, work 40 rows of garter stitch. Then use a stretchy cast off.

Sleeves
Pick up 2 stitches purlwise from the underarm cast on edge. Purl 32. Pick up 2 more stitches purlwise from the underarm cast on edge. These 36 stitches form the sleeve. Work in the round in garter stitch (knit one round, purl the next), for 75 rounds. Use a stretchy cast off to finish the sleeve. Work the other sleeve in the same way.
Weave in ends, sew on buttons, and the jacket is finished.

Notes: I've been lusting after this yarn for the last two months, and on Friday I finally gave in. I'm loving the way it's working up, and I'm already thinking about making an adult-sized version for myself.

Bacon and Cheese Puff

Ingredients

280g Jus-Rol gluten-free puff pastry

cream cheese

6 rashers of bacon

cheese

1 egg (beaten)

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 220C.

Unroll the puff pastry, and cut into 6 squares. Spread some cream cheese along one diagonal of each square. Place a piece of bacon on top, then a slice of cheese. 

Fold one of the expose corners into the middle. Brush the other corner with beaten egg and fold it. Press down to attach the layers of pastry. Brush egg across the top of the pastry.

Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes, until the pastry is cooked and golden brown. Serve hot or cold.

Sitting Room Makeover

A few years back when I spending time planning a new home, I had my mind set on having a stove. Then the idea slipped away from me. Last week, I was in a shop and saw an electric stove and thought "Oh! I could have this for my current home." 

After flicking through a catalogue, we decided we rather like the look of the one pictured above. This morning, I decided to gather together images of the things I would like to have in my sitting room, and whilst looking for the stove, I saw there was a 25% sale as it is being discontinued. 

The plan had been to buy a stove in July or August, but instead, we raced off to the shop and bought it today.

The Glorious 25th!

The 25th of May is a day loaded with significance. It is Towel Day, a day celebrating the importance of towels, especially to those who are fans of Douglas Adams. In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy it says: 

"A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you — daft as a brush, but very very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough."

It's also the anniversary of the Glorious Revolution in Ankh Morpork. "The 25th of May is quietly celebrated by the survivors of the People's Revolution, which ended the reign of Lord Winder. They wear a sprig of lilac and gather at the Small Gods Cemetery to honour the Watchmen who fell: Cecil Clapman, Ned Coates, Dai Dickins, John Keel, Horace Nancyball, Billy Wiglet, and (albeit temporarily) Reg Shoe. The slogan of the People's Revolution is "Truth, Justice, Freedom, Reasonably Priced Love, and a Hard-Boiled Egg!"

There is a huge cross over in the fandoms of Adams and Pratchett. Some people were having problems deciding which to go with, until some hoopy frood suggested lilac towels! A lilac towel casually thrown over one's shoulder will happily encompass both celebrations and bring to mind both great writers.

Bag for a Wedding

A friend is getting married, and I'm going to make a new dress for the wedding. It will be the one on the left, but with sleeves that come to the elbow. I've a beautiful green silk to use.

Now to decide on the handbag. (This is so unlike me, thinking about handbags!) 

Will it be Bag No. 1,

or Bag No. 2?

Possibly Bag No. 3,

or Bag No. 4?

Arne and Carlos' Hedvig Blanket

Like many others, I fell in love with Arne and Carlos' Hedvig blanket when I saw it on their youtube channel a while back. They have written the pattern, and it's now available in their shop. It is definitely going on my 'to do' list.

Thank Goodness

I am feeling significantly better today, and it's a day off! There is so little I must do (washing and feeding people) and even then, if I don't do it someone else will. But, I'm up for these tasks and more.

I'm off to put on a load of washing. Yesterday, socks were washed for the Beloved, but somehow only one pair was washed along with a number of single socks. Today, those singles will be reunited with loved ones, and the Beloved will have a full sock drawer again.

Sleep!

Sleep!  Need sleep! Zzzzzzzzzz.

Oh! It's Here!

Just when I have come to the conclusion it was all a false alarm, my period actually comes. Fickle! 

One fantastic thing is the lack of migraine. I heartily approve. Although, I am heartily sick of the whole business, and would love for it all to be over.

Top Down Garter Stitch Baby Jacket

Yarn: King Cole Drifter DK
Composition: 100% acrylic 
Colour: 1357 Ohio

Pattern:  Top Down Garter Stitch Baby Jacket
Size: 12 months
Needles: 4mm
Amount used: 100g
Started: 10th May 2018
Finished:  20th May 2019

Whilst I did enjoy making the Baby Surprise Jacket, I didn't like sewing the seams. This jacket is seamless. This suits my tastes so much better. Almost all of the 100 gram ball was used. This was to ensure the sleeves matched. I'm going to make another one, but add a collar and make it V-neck.

I Hate The Sodding Menopause

For 7 months, I was blissfully free of cranky hormones, and then suddenly, out of the blue, just when I was thinking 'Is this it? Is it over?' a slew of period indicators arrive. I'm cold, cranky, emotional, frustrated, liable to drop things, unable to remember simple stuff, craving chocolate and crisps, and my breasts are sore. 

It's going to end soon, isn't it?

Waggle Those Hands to Communicate

On the ferry back home we came across a gorgeous little brown Spaniel. He was wearing a 'service dog' harness. We had been missing Ava rather a lot, and were in need of some puppy love. But, we were responsible adults, and so I asked permission to give the dog some attention before just launching in and bestowing 'love'.

I signed to the lady (as this was a service dog for the deaf), that we loved her dog, and asked if we might stroke him. Looking back, my signs were very clumsy, more the incoherent mutterings of an infant than cogent conversation. However, the lady signed that we could, and seemed delighted we had 1. asked, and 2. asked in sign. 

The dog was so happy to receive cuddles, and we were happy to give. We thanked the lady, and made our way to our seats. All in all, it was a happy little interaction. It gives me a great buzz to be able to use little bits of British Sign Language. 

Little London, Gloucestershire

It all started with Tremeirchion. There were signs for Tremeirchion all over north Wales, but I had never been. One day, my Dad took me to Tremeirchion, just to see what the fuss was all about. And, it was a tiny, tiny place, hardly a village, more a hamlet.

Later, on the Isle of Man, I saw signs for Little London, and wanted to see the place for myself. It was even tinier, a really 'blink and you miss it' settlement. Whilst staying in Gloucester, we were driving to visit friends in Wales. We drove through Little London, Gloucestershire. It was similarly tiny, and also similarly un-London-like.

I'm now wondering if I should start collecting 'Little London's. Seems a daft thing to do, but the collection will definitely not take up much space.

Torta al Cioccolato

We had dinner at Carluccio's and I had a glorious torta al cioccolato for dessert. I must make this at some point soon. This version is gluten-free, and it looks like it could easily be made dairy-free too.

It's Not The Leaving Of Liverpool That Grieves Me

Leaving Liverpool never grieves me. It's is almost always the start of a journey or holiday. Or, saying 'fare thee well' to that city marks the last stage on our travels home. Saying goodbye to the city means I'm almost home, and will sleep in my own bed soon.

The crossing of the Irish Sea was incredibly smooth, but the truly noteworthy aspect of the trip was the colours of sunset as we sailed! Beautiful. 

I knew my phone camera would not be able to reproduce the colours faithfully, so I decided against trying to capture them. This image gives a flavour of what I saw.

The pink was a bit more saturated, and it was glorious as the colours merged into blues as the sunset progressed. There was such calm and serenity, a fantastic way to end a holiday.

Gloucester Docks

We have been staying at the Barge Arm in Gloucester Docks again whilst visiting with Lilo and Stitch. I love this apartment, and I love the Docks area. The apartment is a really decent size for a holiday, and the kitchen is superbly stocked with cookware. I could easily see myself living in such a space. One of the huge benefits of this apartment over the first one we stayed in it the parking space. In such a busy place, having your own parking space is glorious!

One improvement to the area would be the planting of trees, and other vegetation. The public spaces are very large, and the noise bounces around like crazy. Some trees and shrubs would be an excellent addition.

It's been fascinating trying to work out how we might live in this apartment full-time (like that's going to happen!). One of the first things to go would be the dishwasher. We don't use one, and it's using up 1/6th of the space in a small kitchen. The next thing I'd investigate would be installing baseboard drawer. The space under the cupboards in kitchens is normally wasted. These 'forgotten spaces' would be excellent for storing things like bakeware, cake decorating supplies, and even things like extension cords, fabric gift bags etc.

One of the biggest changes would be in relation to crafting. There would not be space to store multiple unfinished projects, or materials for new ones. I'd have to work on a very strict system of having one knitting project, and one quilting project on the go at any one time. Although, when there's yarn and fabric shops within very easy access, the yarn and fabric can be stored in the shops and just bough when needed. This is a lesson I need to learn and apply to my life back home!

Button Hole Elastic

This stuff is brilliant!

Losing weight means my trousers no longer fit on the waist. Well, they're a bit baggy all over, but it's the waist that really matters. If the waist is too, too big, then you no longer are wearing trousers, but ankle warmers instead.

My newest trousers, the grey ones, have become too loose around the waist, that is, until this morning. Now, with the help of two buttons, and bit of button hole elastic, the waist of the trousers sits on my waist. No longer are they merely resting on the hips.  

They are still a smidge snug on my calves though, and upping my cycling, walking and swimming this month isn't going to do a lot to help with this situation. I need to make some summer trousers, ones which will gently drape over my calves.

Baby Surprise Jacket

Yarn: King Cole Cherished
Composition: acrylic
Colour: Lemon
Yarn: King Cole Cherish
Composition: acrylic
Colour: Aqua Marine
Patter: Baby Surprise Jacket
Needles: 4mm
Started: 3rd May 2019
Finished: 6th May 2019

This is my second BSJ. The first was at least 9 years ago! I love how a little, weird shape of knitted fabric becomes a cardigan.

More Fabric for Lilo and Stitch's Quilt

I saw these fabric in Hobbycraft and just had to buy them to add into the mix of fabrics that will be used in Lilo and Stitch's quilt.

Hobbycraft

I was thinking, "I wish I lived in a place with a Hobbycraft shop." and then I realised it would no longer be the holiday treat it currently is. I go on holiday, I go to Hobbycraft.

With lightweight things, I could ask Stitch if she could buy a few items and post them over to me on my little island. For bigger items, I can put together an order and have then shipped. But there's something special about getting to go into the shop and have a browse.

Today, I'd like to buy candle wicks for a candle mould about 7.5cm in diameter. 

A Cotswolding We Will Go

Stitch asked if we might visit Bourton on the Water, so we did. It is a charming little Cotswold village stuffed full of tourists.  Our party enjoyed the Motor Museum, lunch at De La Hayes, and the whole aesthetic. Everyone enjoyed the Model Village, or more precisely, the model village in the model village in the model village. It would be nice to think there's model villages in model villages all the way down to the subatomic.

Greys and Cream Hat and Wrist Warmers

Whilst stocktaking the knitting patterns at work, I came across a lovely hat. Rather than buy a pattern, I decided to make my own version. The elongated stitches are made by doing a double yarn over, and then dropping the yarn overs. 

I was rather please with myself, and wanted to check how closely I had managed to get to the original. Humph! The original is a simple garter stitch and stocking stitch hat, with the 'elongated stitches' being embroidered on afterwards!

Splash Mittens and Fingerless Gloves

Company:  King Cole

Yarn: Splash DKComposition: AcrylicColour:  Blues and greenPattern: Children's Mittens and Ribbed Wrist WarmersSize: 4-6 years, and adultNeedles: 4mm

I shall write up the pattern for the Children's Mittens soon. When I do, I'll come back and edit the information into this post.

Rainbow Slice

I've been playing with soap again.  This is 'Rainbow Slice'. I like it, but I can improve! In my next batch I'll make the soap slightly differently, and hopefully, it will look even better.

And So It Begins!

Iron May has begun. So far, I've walked 1.8 miles and cycled 5. 

This year, instead of entering as an individual, Cat and I have become a team, and we are going to do it together. My plan is to do a full triathlon, and also some extra swimming as swimming isn't Cat's thing.