Tuesday 31 July 2012

Ravellenic Games Day 4

Already Day 4 - How time flies.
Here is a picture of my progress by the end of day 3:
At the end of Day 3 I had completed the back.
I have finished knitting for today and so this is my total progress for day 4:
I managed to complete the front of the jersey today :-D
Tomorrow is our National Day so I am guessing I may not do too much knitting we will see. Will tell you all about that tomorrow or Thursday if I don't get a chance.
Hope all you other Ravellers out there taking part are enjoying this challenge as much as I am.

Sunday 29 July 2012

Ravellenic Games - Day 2

Another day enjoying the Olympics. It has not been the friendliest of days, so perfect for sitting indoors knitting my fingers to the bone :-D
I must admit though that this project is so cool! I love the motivation of the 17 days. It does keep you moving and knitting! 
Today I have progressed with my pullover and have separated back and front and bound off for the armholes. I should finish the back off tomorrow evening and then it is on to the front!
This wool doesn't really give much away, which is great if I had made some mistakes, but not so great for seeing just how far it has come. 
Anyway - the end result of today's' knitting escapade:
Without Flash

With flash for the colours :-D
See you tomorrow for another update!


Saturday 28 July 2012

And we're off.........

I think I am off to a great start with my Ravellenics Games 2012 pullover. I cast on yesterday with the games and am off. By the end of the evening I had managed a fair amount of knitting for one day!
If I manage to carry on at this tempo, I think I will have the finish line well within my sites! 
I have made quite a couple of modifications to this pattern thus far, I am knitting in the round (purely because I just do not have the patience or the time to knit one side and then the next), and changed my stitch count so that the end result will fit Jas just right :-D
I love the feel of this wool, so squishy and a perfect autumny knit for when the girls go back to school. The colours are cool too!
Have you been watching the games on telly? 
Which team are you rooting for?
I am S.A. all the way, except in the games where S.A. isn't taking part, then I am all for Switzerland!
I leave you with a pic of my kitty Stitch sitting in the only cool place left yesterday, just outside the door! (A Caturday pic just for Nancy at One Loopy Knitter :-D) Finally!

Wednesday 25 July 2012

Wednesday again.......

I can't believe it is Wednesday already! 
I guess it has been one of those weeks :->
Oh well, I haven't been too idle with my knitting and crochet and it has grown slightly.
(The balls of turquoise are going to be the start of a secret something :-D)
First, an update on my crochet project.
Progress-wise I am just about done, all I have to do is sew the arms in and complete the edging, but I just can't bring myself to do just that. I guess it is because it isn't looking that right to me :-( 
What a shame, I keep looking at it hoping to be inspired to finish it off but I just can't be asked! It fits okay and I am kinda happy with the overall feel of the piece, I can't explain it! Have you ever got to the end of a project and felt this way?
On a brighter note, Kay's Pullover is growing well. At the moment it is pretty basic and I am enjoying just being able to knit in the round without paying too much attention to the project just yet.
I love the way the ribbon yarn changes depth of colour throughout the piece (unfortunately you can't really see it in the photo) but it does look rather nice having the light and then the dark purple come through.
As you may already know, on Friday the Ravellenics start. If you dropped by last week you might have read here, so you'll already know that I will be taking part and can't wait to cast on!
On the reading front: 
Still busy with "The Passage". 
As much as this is an interesting read I find that I am not progressing and even though I am reading like a mad hatter, am still only on page 300 odd! In all honesty I am really considering putting it down as I can only bring up so much perseverance for a book and I feel that my limit with this book has been reached. When I think that I have to keep reading for another 600 or so pages I feel exhausted! Not a good sign for a book! Have any of you read this book and would recommend that I keep reading? I keep hoping that in a couple of pages it is going to get extremely interesting, but it never really gets there :-(
Well, that's all from me for today.
I will be sharing this post with the lovely talented people over at:

Tuesday 24 July 2012

Bridge Update

Well, today they have been busy building the hanging bridge again using a helicopter to manoeuvre the huge pieces of bridge into place. First off this morning, they started by placing the supporting poles into the ground on the other side of the valley. For this they brought in a huge helicopter. It was incredible, I went with the girls to go and have a look. Here some photos:
The bridge should be finished by September, can't wait to see the progress over the next couple of weeks. I will keep you updated :-D
x

Thursday 19 July 2012

Kitchen Krafts - Impossible Tart


Today I am sharing a recipe that I got given at some point, not sure when or by whom, so I can't even give appreciation to the person who developed this recipe :-( 
Anyway - thank you whoever you were.. 
This is one of those quick 5 minute prep recipes - I love those kind of recipes don't you?
Ingredients:
4 Eggs
50g Margerine or butter
200g sugar
60g Flour
2ml Salt
3ml Baking Powder
500ml Milk
80g Coconut
5ml Vanilla Essence
Preheat oven to 180 Degrees Celsius.
Mix all the ingredients together.
Pour into a greased pie dish. 
Bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until golden brown and done.
You may notice that the two images above are in two different bowls. I started by pouring the ingredients into a cake form - bad idea :( As soon as it was in the oven it started to drip, so make sure your dish is one piece and stable!!
Serve with coffee or tea and enjoy!
I would love to hear from you. Please share your favourite recipes, traditions or tips and tricks from the home below.
You may use the image below on your site and be sure to link back :-D
Until next week
En Guete!
Shared with my amazing Link-Ups :)

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Ravellenic Games 2012

As if I didn't have enough to work on in my project bag ;-O, I signed myself up for an event in this years' Ravellenic Games! I will be taking part in the Sweater Event.
I have found the perfect project that can possibly be knit in that period of time. 
It is a project for Jas - I need to start to stock up for their winter wardrobe so this is a wardrobe filler - so-to-speak, and it is cute.
I will be knitting: 
Rihanna Inspired Nautical Cropped Pullover by Julie Grantz LeFrancois
Isn't it sweet?
And I will be knitting it in:
What do you think?
Are you taking part in the Ravellenic Games 2012?
Cast on is at 8:00pm (my time - 9:00pm UK time) on the 27th July 2012.
Ends at 11:59 GMT on the 12 August 2012.
For more information visit HERE

WIP Wednesday / Yarn Along / KAL

This week I have managed to progress pretty far on my crochet pullover that I am busy with for the Summer Sweater KAL. I have finished the front and back and half of the first sleeve. So far it is going well but I did have to add on to the front and back as it looks a little tight, so for good measure I added an extra panel on each side.
On the sleeve side of things, I have completed the first crochet panel on the side of the sleeve and these seem to go pretty fast.
I should be finished both sleeves by Friday and then all I need to do is sew it together add the finishing touches and it should be done :-D Maybe I am even lucky enough to have a FO for Firday - now wouldn't that be cool!
I have also managed to knit some more on Kaylas' Pullover.
With flash
Without flash
I think I will not have enough of the ribbon yarn to complete the whole pullover in the thread :-( but I have made a plan! I bought this yarn a while back on Ebay at a very good price, but it only came with 10 balls roughly 1200m. I noticed that the small of the pattern needs about 1665m. Now, I originally cast on the small and after finishing the rib, saw that it was knitting up really big, too big for Kay, so I pulled it out and adjusted the pattern to create an xs, which looks more realistic size wise right now. This being the case, I am guessing that I should have a little more leeway with regards to the yarn, but I have decided to get a couple of balls of different ribbon yarn for the seed stitch part of the pattern to give the pullover that extra edge. 
Another interesting thing, when I looked at the yarn before I started, it looked as if the darker ribbon would be the predominant colour of the pullover. But now that the rib is finished it actually is more of the lighter yarn colour. So my choices for the seed stitch section are these:

I know they don't really look all that similar as photos, but they are almost an exact match, the lighter of the yarn mix of the yarn I have started with, and the darker - the ribbon colour. I am thinking of doing the seed stitch with the darker yarn above. I guess the finished WIP will tell if it works :)
What do you think?
On the reading front: 

Last week someone (sorry I visited so many blogs last Wednesday I can't remember who it was:()mentioned that they had got "The Passage" and would be taking it with them as a holiday read. Well, I grabbed a copy from Book Depository and started to read it this week and so far I am enjoying it.
From the inside flap:
It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die. Another to be born.
First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by far — of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.
As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. Wolgast is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors, but for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey — spanning miles and decades — toward the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.
Tomorrow in Kitchen Krafts I will be sharing a recipe for an "Impossible Tart". Do you have a great recipe that you would like to share? Perhaps a tradition which you hold strong? Maybe some tips and tricks from around the home? Come past and share, I would love to hear from you.
Until tomorrow
x
I will sharing this post today with all the other lovelies over at:

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