Movie cakes and bizarro face bakes

So those of you who know me in person, will know that I am a bit of a closet baker. I say closet merely for the fact that I don't seem to be able to do it very often. There are never enough people around me to eat a cake in it's entirety, and it's not like you can just bake one slice. Although.. saying that, in my new job, there are lots of mysteriously appearing cakes, and lots of people to eat them, so this could all be about to change.

Anyway, so if I've got a reason to make a cake, I tend to really go for it, and get it out of my system. Problem is, even with the best intentions, they all come out looking deathly creepy.

So this is the last time I managed to do that; introducing, The Man in the Moon cake. Those of you who are familiar with The Mighty Boosh (which is a very obscure, very weird UK 'comedy' for those of you who may not have heard about it. It is the brainchild of two bizarre comedians, and in my opinion, a passable querky half-hour, and little else. But that's not important. What's important was that it was our friend's favourite TV show. So when it was his birthday, I baked a blue sponge cake, and decorated it for him.

The um.. 'real' Man in the Moon off the telly

My cake version of the Man in the Moon (with evident over-sized features; yes, I know)

Kinda goofy. But yeah. Man in the moon was a fun one. I mean, I've done three of these now (sadly, I cannot show you one as it was a giant, veiny penis for a Hen do, and just a little too extreme for my fluffy blog), and I don't seem to have learned that I should measure features against the size of the cake BEFORE I sculpt them, what I've been doing is just kinda building stuff while the cake is in the oven. They're always too big. But then I think this has given me my own 'signature' style. Who am I kidding, there is no business idea here. These are just special gifts for friends.

Man in the moon has facial features sculpted from fondant icing, with an egg-white icing (mallow) for coverage. If you ever try to make mallow icing, make sure you've got a flipping electric whisk handy. TRUST ME.

..That was a couple of years ago now.

This year, specifically the weekend just passed, it was time for our Friend Jonny's birthday. He's been through a tough time this year so I had to do something really really special for him. Now our friend Jonny likes the film Hellraiser (including the sequels, 2, 3 and 4). So it was an easy character to pick for him. My fella and I decided on Pinhead.

Pinhead, the leading evil force in the Hellraiser movies

My Pinhead cake

This is my Pinhead. Apart from five of the pins, which are birthday candles, the rest are cocktail sticks (which after a few drinks, we were lucky not to have injured ourselves, really). The teeth were dyed with Turmeric (we'd run out of yellow food colouring, and saffron didn't work), and the all of it was sculpted from fondant icing. The sponge is a black and white marble cake (when cut into it, Jonny said it looked 'dead inside' - cool), took a whole tube of black food colouring to get that one to work. I wonder what's in that stuff, anyway? Oh well.

Needless to say, Jonny loved it. So I'm really happy to have made the effort for him. My oversized features have actually made it look a bit creepier, I think. But if you can visually add a bit of forehead and some chin, I think it's come out fairly realistic, if a little bug-eyed and Aardman-ish.

I was very lucky to attend a school which offered GCSE sculpture, and I absolutely loved it. Other than, y'know, Fimo, there are very few outlets for that kind of skill. So if you've got itchy fingers, maybe it's time you had a go at making a scary cake? god help me if I try and make one for kiddies, sometime.. it would probably make them all cry!!!

What the Doily, yo?

There are some really odd crochet trends floating around the fibre world at the moment, and Crocheting covers for pebbles is definitely one of them. They sound absolutely barmy, but have you seen how frakking pretty they are? Practically for designers, I would imagine that they would be a nightmare. So I stopped imagining. I mean, really; you can't write a pattern for a pebble cover, and then ask the maker to take a day trip to a beach, and take a pebble which 'matches the stated dimensions'. Odd, very odd. These are for crocheters who are happy to freeform a little.

I must admit though, a necklace one would be nice..

Crocheted pebble covers

I keep getting wedding ideas even though it's no secret that we won't be getting hitched for a pretty long time. Firstly, I have bought the yarn to make the dress. Yes. You heard. Which might not sound like a big deal, but think about it. I need to work on it when he's not around (bad luck to see the dress before the day, obviously). I've got to design the thing, and make it over a period where I can't gain or lose any weight, which would include getting pregnant! But before any of that is even thought about, I want the date set in stone. So it's not happening for a while. That's cool though, we're 9 years together already. But I digress!!

The wedding idea was painted and crocheted stone covers as baloon weights, but that's not the best on that's hit me in the last few days. I ask you, then; why is nobody making doilies for weddings?

Crocheting my Doily on the way to my Mum's on the Easter weekend.

In the office last week, was a ball of Rico Essentials Crochet Cotton (I've just looked up that link - only 30 people have it stashed which is batty - It's something stupid like £1.90 for 260m). It was red, which isn't really my colour, but I wanted to have a play and get to know the yarn, plus it's kind of a personal tradition for me to craft something over the Easter weekend. So I rooted out a doily pattern, and got hooking. Figured I'd make it for my fella's mum, she likes red and frilly things. I'd made one before so it wasn't completely out there, the idea just suited the yarn. After three rounds I was consumed by the mesmerising construction of each round, and blasted through the yarn in 2 days. End of the story was, my doily did not get done by the end of Easter Sunday. But whatever.

Point is, they're pretty. But what is really bugging me, is how versatile they are. I say bugging simply because I don't quite understand why they are so unappreciated. After a few minutes digging around on Ravelry I found hundreds of free vintage ornamental, beautiful doily patterns that people had carefully typed out and uploaded from very old originals (not a clue how this works with copyright - mine is from 1946). My daydream would be black tablecloths with electric blue doilies over the top as a wedding centrepiece (ok, so maybe not poebbles too, that might be too much). This lady crocheted a doily pattern and modified it as she went to make it fit an umbrella. SO pretty, if slightly impractical.

Modified Doily umbrella by Liana

One of the girls in the office has announced that she is pregnant. She is really lovely, too. So after finding that my red Rico doily (above) is coming out twice the suggested size because of the thickness of thread, what is stopping us from swapping a 30-count cotton up to sock yarn, and turning it into the most decorative baby shawl anyone could possibly dream of getting? Sock yarns are mostly washable too, right? Do it, people!

...anyway so I ran out of red yarn mid-doily and now have no doily-ing to do until more arrives. Hence I have time to blog instead. Meh.

EDIT: If you're not sold by doilies (you moron, how can you not be sold!!) but still fancy trying out this fab 'crisp and clean' yarn, go superclean and make a soap cover. Great gifts for the um.. 'mature' lady in your life. I wouldn't say no, though! It would be a good exfoliant, right? ..right?

S'been a while! Knitting takes a twist

...well it has, it's been ages since I wrote a blog post updating you all with my knitting life! It's been a bit mad at my end, to be fair. I sadly said goodbye to my role as a Rowan Workshop Tutor/Consultant back in February. It was a really tough decision, I have absolutely loved my time with them, working with such posh yarns and designs which, as a customer, I'd been oogling since I was about 9 years old. Very personal to me. So goodbye, Rowan Yarns! Til we meet again, at least.

I am now, instead, a proud member of the knitting team at Woman's Weekly magazine. Which is amazing. I'm being shouldered with all sorts of exciting responsibilities, and the team are super-duper nice, I mean, really nice. Feels like I've worked there forever. Very right. So if you haven't been scouring every knitting magazine in the country for my designs, here is my favourite of my recently published ones which you might like to see! I'm really proud of this bad boy;

This is my first ever crochet design which I've had published on actual print, on real proper paper, which was featured in the February 2014 Knitting and Crochet Special by Woman's Weekly (which came out on my birthday, oddly!). I say first, there were a couple of others of mine in the same mag, you can find the details on my ravelry page. But this was a special one. This was inspired by the below image which was a promotional shot for a yarn company. Without my good old Rowan Big Wool and a knitted blackberry stitch to fall back on (the brief was for crochet, specifically), it was a tricky vision to bring to life, but I'm pleased with how it came out.

So yeah, that's a teeny snippit of what I've been up to. What I've found very peculiar, is the freedom of not being attached to any one yarn company. It's been very alien to try and pick knitting projects for my personal enjoyment, where I can use any yarn I fancy. Such phases in my life have given rise to some major yarn binging. Such as the Colinette Jitterbug binge (2007 - 2009), The Rowan Yarns Binge (2007 - 2014), The Easyknits binge (2010? - 2013), The Wollmeise Binge (2011 - 2013), and the newest one is The Namolio binge, which just kicked off this year.

Please note, that all binges only qualify as 'binges' when 30 skeins or more are acquired... yeeeeah.

So yeah, there's a lot of creativity flowing, it's lovely to have some time for the sketchbook, and incorporate social networking into my working role, as like, a thing. But also to binge a bit and have some fun, and learn a load of new things. It's lovely.

...and if you haven't seen the Namolio stuff, now is the time. She's incredible.

February is a Sardinia time of year for me.

Yeah, I have a bit of a problem with repeatedly making the same things over and over. It's always for one of two reasons, the first being a lost item (see hats post), the second being that I just love the project so much. The Kat hat by Kim Hargreaves is one of these, but I think the main perpetrator of repeated creation, is a now free Design called Sardinia by Marie Wallin. It was in a published book when I made number one, and has since been uploaded to the Rowan webpage for everyone to enjoy. No excuse then, is there?

I'm currently making number, um... 9.

I've had a couple that have come out odd sizes, colours that I didn't really like when finished, and my favourite one has lost most of it's colour I've worn it half to death. But it doesn't stop me making number 9.

Meet number one (left). The one that has been re-dyed black twice and lost all of it's sheen because I WEAR IT ALL THE TIME. I'll have to buy yarn to make a new one, it's getting ridiculous.

I really thought that two years ago, I'd reached my limit of how many Sardinia Tee shirts I could own. That is, until the new Rowan Yarns Spring Summer shades of Rowan Cotton Glacé arrived and I met Blackcurrant. It's such an incredible shade. The colour selection for a project like this is incredibly important. I mean, look closely at mine. It is not just the garment that works on it's own, but the choice of 'layer' to wear beneath it. A colour which co-ordinates easily with a selection of colours, is most practical and likely to be worn. Take for example, number four (right):

So number four is a little unloved. It's fine with black underneath, deep purple maybe, but it's just not as easy to throw on as the navy blue (number 2), mauve (number five/six) and, I'm pretty sure, WIP, number 9.

So I've gone for this new deep rich purple which I can only describe as 'navy purple', the new Cotton Glacé shade, blackcurrant. It's so rich and deep, much the same as black, but less boring than black. I guess number 10 will need to be a replacement black! I do miss it come to think of it... Looks very tatty now. Literally worn to death. Work, weekends, everywhere. But it's very versatile, that's the thing.

Just try not to be distracted by the styling in the original image. I wasn't, and haven't looked back!

Did I forget to mention that these are ridiculously quick to make? I think my record is four days... and I'm not particularly quick.

Sockyarn for Christmas?

Well, it's been a rocky few years for knitting and me. I think with any hobby that you turn into a job, you are always in danger of over-examining and dissecting it, until only the ugly components remain. Just zaps thew enjoyment out of it, really. I have gone through phases for months and months where I've knitted nothing, which those of you who know me, will know is completely irregular. This Autumn-Winter season has not been that bad, with my choices of project being the issue. Take for example, what I'm making for a 'uniform' piece, Tabatha, a reworked design from Martin Storey using the new Kidsilk Haze Eclipse, from Rowan. 

        You'll notice that it's entirely made in stocking stitch; herein lies the problem. Boredom. I think I can live with plain knitting for socks because the double-pointed needle action keeps me sane. But this one is a nightmare. It's been going since September.
        It's nice, too; done in the deep blue and black for me (my two favourite colours) so there's no reason for this not to get finished!! It followed a scarf knitted in the new Rowan Thick and Thin yarn in the fab colourway, Greenstone. It's not necessarily a colour I'd choose to wear, but when I had my 'colours done' it did turn up on my recommended palette, and it's a shade which has sneaked into several of Rowan's winter yarn palettes this season (which is great as I've managed a matching hat).
       Now, the nature of the Thick and Thin is in the title, really. It is a super-slubby, pure wool yarn. Utterly lovely. But also, utterly lumpy. Which has it's place, and makes for particularly lovely garter stitch fabrics. Ah. Garter stitch. Yeah, so another very dull, uninspiring knit where you just kida treat your hands and arms as machines, and let them work. Mind-numbing. The scarf took two months as a result, but is stunning. I'll have to get you guys a picture.


I was in Holmfirth a couple of weeks ago, having had the honour of being invited to teach Rowan's Christmas weekend workshop  for the third time in a row. It was fab. I regret that I also had NO chance to take any pictures so you will have to use your imagination on this one! I took my Mum with me for a music-and-mince-pie-filled knitted texture and basic crochet weekend, where we made snowflakes, experimented with double-stranding techniques, and how to work short-row shaping into an all-over cable pattern (for a stocking 'heel'). I had a great time and am thankful to everyone who came and put up with my Christmas elf-ness for two days running (including you, Mum).
      There is only one problem with these workshops; the attendants. No, it's not a misprint. The attendants are a nightmare. They are all enablers who arrive with exotic yarns and irresistible projects to show me, and as a result I end up with a humungous shopping list, which usually costs about the same as what I earn teaching the weekend! Worth it though, Check out this eye candy!!!

 

This is a selection of Opal self-striping sock yarn from the great manufacturers of Germany, Zwergeryarn. Unfortunately we rarely stock the full range in the UK so I've had to source quite a few from abroad. I must admit, it is improving my skills of reading German quite rapidly. Don't look at me funny, yes; I love the Coats Crafts yarns available, particularly their range of Regia sock yarn. But Regia has the same problem. It's made out in Germany, appreciated more by German sock fiends, and  only a very small selection are regularly stocked in the UK. Scandal.

One of the highlights of my trips to teach in Holmfirth is a good rummage around their stored selection of Regia yarn, and there was none to play with. Disheartened, I went into town to the local shop, Up Country. Their selection was teeny, but I forced myself to buy a ball anyway (I don't like it much, though). On my return to London, I made a beeline for Liberty's, who for the best oart of the last decade, have been my go-to for Regia. I was gutted to find nothing new, and another teeny selection. That was where I gave up, and thought I'd try the lush stuff above.

Now, the next image may shock and disturb you. I must urge you to look away now if you suffer with any form of yarn snobbery. I think having bought this stuff, I can no longer claim to suffer with such a disposition. Introducing, King Cole Tinsel. Now I can hear you forming crucifixes with your fingers, I know what you're thinking. But this turned up at the Rowan Mill with a very specific project having been made, and I fell in love. Meet The Tinsel Hedgehog!

...isn't he awesome? He comes courtesy of The Wool Baa in Sheffield, as a kit. Unfortunately for me, you can't order this kit via their webpage, and they don't answer their e-mails. I don't think I'd be breaking any copyright to design my own, for personal use? (Any input appreciated there). So after my trip to the land of luxury yarn, I've returned with the complete opposite. I blame the enablers, myself. To remedy this, I've decided to whisk my Mum and I off to this knitting party being run by the good people at Pom Pom Magazine. It's dirt cheap at £4 to get in, and it sounds like all the Indie Dyers and interesting spinners that were missing from the Alexandra Palace Knitting Exhibition this year (or so I am told) will be coming to exhibit at Pom Pom. I'll have to set myself a limit but I'm really looking forward to it. Details on their webpage and stuff. In the meantime, I have my wear-forever socks to be keeping me busy. Nothing wrong with a little sprinkle of Nylon in these things, if you ask me, it's totally worth using.

Now what you will notice wherever you look at any of the official Zwerger Opal 'shade cards' (that is, poster-style images with a ball of the yarn and a sock knitted up in the colour) you will find the sock to be the same: 1x1 rib, stockinette sole, short-row heel. Can I find a pattern like this anywhere? Absolutely not. So I am working on a free download pattern for it. Probably just for my size though (5-7). If you look very closely at this image, you will see a ball of sparkling yarn, with a sparkling sock. This is my new garish love; metallic sock yarn. This is a new range of yarns from Opal, The Hudertwasser mit Silbereffekt, which is now available from Pip at The Sock Yarn Shop in the UK. Me? I was so impatient, I ordered mine from Germany last week, so will have to wait forever to see any!!!! Happy Christmas Knitting, everyone!