Spring forward and back to Easter.

The latest Mollie Makes magazine dropped through my letterbox this morning and the cover filled me with thoughts of Easter past and present.
Easter means, for me, Spring and also birthdays (mine and Eldest Biscuit's to name two of half a dozen), renewal and the colour yellow.  Chocolate of course and weekends with my lovely wee family, holidays from school and work. I do like spring, even if it's usually always still baltic here in my wee bit of Scotland.  Yet the sun shines and that is always lovely don't you think?

So down I sat with my mag and my cappuccino.

Mollie Makes has egg cosies on it's cover that took me back a couple of years.  You may remember I knitted these for Teacher gifts way back in 2010.

Seems like such a long time ago now.

The pattern for these is there for all now in issue twelve and they are well worth the time to knit them up.  Although now I am looking at the photos I did change the pattern after I knitted up the blue one. I confess I hate hate hate garter stitch with a passion.  I think it shows up uneven tension and is quite ugly.  I'm also surprised when designers choose it over other stitches that look so much better.  Anyways I changed the cuff to 'rib' which I thinks looks loads better. I might have to make one for me as I frogged the blue one to make the phone cover you see in the first photo. They are cute and I remember the Teachers I made them for loved them too.

I do love Mollie Makes, such a lovely, inspiring magazine.

Take care, my lovelies.

X

(there is a correction for the crochet flower brooch pattern here if you need it)

An Easter Giveaway.......it's time!

****NOW CLOSED****

Morning to you all.  Does anyone else feel *wrong* because the clocks have changed?  I feel like I got dragged from bed kicking and screaming in the middle of the night.  My body clock feels totally off.  The sun has gone off on a mini-break too.  It started pouring here yesterday five minutes after I put the washing out on a nice Spring day, the sun was out.  Obviously his bags were packed and he was waiting at the car to go.  The heavens opened, serious, proper rain and it hasn't really stopped since, snow is predicted up here tonight and tomorrow.  So it's feeling very un-Spring like here but never fear I have just the thing............

photo used with the kind permission of Julie Williams, Little Cotton Rabbits.  All rights reserved.

....an Easter Parade of these little laddies and lassies.  Don't they scream SPRING?  I love these bunnies.  I love their ickle faces and their spring-y jumpers.  I love Little Cotton Rabbits as do most of the world as far as I can gather.  Getting your hands on one of Julie's creations is like trying to find gold dust.  As soon as any of her animals or cakes appear in her shop they sell instantly so the shop is almost always empty but that is OK.  Julie is not a knitting machine and she appreciates the demand out their for her creations as she has recently opened a lottery so more people have a chance of buying something.  Now I cannot offer you one of Julie's Bunny Egg Cosies, one knitted by her (as seen above) but I can offer the next best thing.  Cosies, knitted by me from Julie's original pattern available here.  They are lovely to knit and it's wonderful to see them coming to life as you knit and sew them up.

I am offering the winner two bunny cosies, one boy and one girl, in stripey jumpers, plus other Easter goodies  including chocolate, there has to be chocolate.  I may even give a second prize of one cosy plus goodies. 

In true Blue Peter style, here's one I made for me earlier........

let me introduce..

Isn't she adorable?  

I tweaked the design of the jumper for me as I love spots but the giveaway ones will be stripey like the original pattern designed by Julie Williams.  I have some lovely new wool perfect for spring.

So all you have to do to win is leave a comment on my blog telling me what you love about Spring  before the end of Easter Monday (5th April), GMT and I'll pick a lucky winner on Tuesday 6th by which point I'll be a year older and fatter as I am getting a huge Lindt Lindor Easter Egg because it's my birthday on Easter Sunday. 

Good luck!

X

Squeeze ma lemon...........

I couldn't resist this title, part of quite a 'oh-er' line from a Led Zeppelin song but it is apt as I wanted to discuss lemons.  I love lemons and last week I had a craving and with my new Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery book at hand I set about baking and making a fine old mess (more on that later).

This is the kind of book you want to jump in and submerge yourself in.

 

 

Not the most simple of methods in baking but the end result is worth the attention needed.

Ooh I so wanted lemon and the smells in my kitchen were amazing.

When it came to the lemon butter icing I needed a little colour, I wanted yellow.

 

 I wanted to feel like Spring sunshine was on the way bringing it's warmth but still desired the comfort needed in the cold that only a cupcake can bring.  Look at these, yes there's lots of photos but I'm celebrating the joy that is cake here........

 

  

  

  

are they not delightful????? 

I had such a lovely time with these and making a right old mess.  I could have stayed with all the pretty staged photos but hey let's get real.  This is what my kitchen looks like when I have been let loose with icing sugar.

  

I am a messy cook but I cannot not spill icing sugar everywhere when I am using it.

It cleans.......

.....so now I can enjoy one of those babies.

  

It was so good.  Even Hubby who is not a lemon fan liked them.  I'm thinking  chocolate with mint icing next, or vanilla with lime and coconut icing, or strawberries and cream, or raspberry.

Decisions, decisions!!

Here is the man that I could hardly bare begging for his lemon to be squeezed till the juice ran down his leg.

I WISH!!

The gorgeous Robert Plant, pensioner now but we'll gloss over that fact shall we!

X