First of all, sorry not to have got round to visiting everyone last week. I seemed to have a very busy week and time simply ran away with me and I got behind with everything. I hope I’ll do a bit better this week!
What’s On Your Workdesk this Wednesday?
I’m still working on my knitting UFOs.
Green mohair cardigan UFO
If there is a timeline associated with this UnFinished Object, it begins back in 1995, the earliest time I remember working on it. I was recovering from my hysterectomy and remember picking up the stitches for the band, which resulted in this mess:
Front Band Attempt #1.
It then sat in a box for the ensuing years up until this year. In the interim, I gained a lot of weight and it wouldn’t have fitted me anyway, so why bother doing anything about it? Then came Julia’s WOYWW 11th anniversary challenge and I bit the bullet and decided to deal with this once and for all.
Front Band Attempt #2.
The band removed, and stitch markers at one-inch intervals to enable me to pick up 6 stitches per inch.
The resulting new band, according to this method. I found a very good YouTube video on making single-row buttonholes, and made 5, each with 3 stitches.
It looks pretty good, laid out on the bed. The front is no longer puckered. However, on closer examination you can see that there are too many stitches up and around the V-neck. I used the stretchy cast-off method to finish it off.
When I tried it on, the whole thing gaped at the front and tended to fall off my shoulders. It looked a mess, so I ripped it all out again.
Front Band Attempt #3.
This time, I picked up 6 stitches per inch on the two fronts up to the V-neck, and then gradually reduced the number through 5, to 4 stitches per inch around the back of the neck, reducing the total number of stitches from about 550 to 450 (still a huge number, and each row took over half an hour to knit!). I took this opportunity to make the buttonholes a bit bigger too, this time making them 5 stitches long, rather than 3 stitches.
Also, to give the band a bit more structure, and because it didn’t need to be stretchy to go over my head, I used a conventional casting off method. However, while the back of the neck pulled in better, it was too much of a good thing, and the front was puckered again.
Front Band Attempt #3.1.
I didn’t think it was necessary to unravel the whole band again, because the principle of adjusting the number of stitches per inch to match the shape and drape of the garment was sound. I therefore just undid the casting off (which took ages), and redid it with the stretchy cast-off method as before. This is the result.
I think this is acceptable. When I tried it on, there was a bit of excess fabric in front of the armpits, but I think once it’s pressed, it will probably be OK. My hubby suggested putting shoulder pads in (we’ve been watching the Great British Sewing Bee and laughing at the 1980s edition with the massive shoulder pads! – Did we really dress like that and think it was OK?!!) – it may be the answer, but I shan’t know until it’s all washed and blocked. The stitch markers indicate the position of the buttonholes, and a couple of places where I adjusted the number of stitches per inch.
By next week this UFO should be finished – I hope! It’s been much more difficult and time-consuming than I thought it would be, but when you are making something to wear, if it doesn’t fit properly, what is the point in not taking the time and trouble to get it right? It would just return to the box for another 25 years!
Food
No specific Recipe of the Week this week, but a quick run-down of some of the cooking I have done.
Biscuits
I had a biscuit-making session and made 3 different types to replenish our supplies. Here they are, ready for baking.
The finished biscuits.
The 3-Ingredient Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe is a new one, and I’m afraid I overcooked them and they came out like concrete! I am NOT a biscuit dunker, but I did find that breaking the biscuit up into little pieces and soaking them in a teaspoonful of tea for a few minutes before eating them did at least prevent tooth breakage! The trouble is, I lack confidence with biscuits. I know full well that when you take biscuits out of the oven, the often feel soft, and they crisp up as they cool, but I’m never convinced that they are done, and put them back, and end up overcooking or burning them! When I make this particular recipe again I shall be sure not to overcook them, and if it’s successful, I’ll post it as a Recipe of the Week because they taste pretty good, and the recipe is so simple.
I made the sweet version of the Almond Pulp and Nut Butter ones earlier, but put them with the new savoury ones for comparison, and scattered a few almonds on top to indicate the difference. This is a recipe I made up myself, loosely based on a whole-food crumble recipe and adding my own choice of ingredients. It is very successful in both the sweet and savoury versions.
The seeded oatcake recipe is one I do regularly. We both love these crunchy, tasty oatcakes! They were my Recipe of the Week back in March, in this post.
Other cooking
A bowl of cooked soya beans and a pound of brown rice, ready for portioning for the freezer, and the second portion of banana curry, ready for us to eat in a day or two. This is one of our favourite recipes, and the dish my hubby requested for his birthday lunch last month!
With some of the soya beans, and a pack of home-made salsa from the freezer, I tried my hand at home-made baked beans.
We had them for supper with a couple of baked potatoes (cooked in my Ninja Foodi, using the air fryer mode), served with some faux parmesan (vegan, made from dried almond pulp and nutritional yeast), a sprinkling of sprouted alfalfa seeds as a garnish, and a leafy green salad. Deelicious! My hubby used to be a great aficionado of the Great British Baked Bean, and to get his seal of approval was all I needed.
Kitties
No new kitty photos this week, because they haven’t done anything particularly photogenic – once or twice I grabbed the camera but they moved before I could get the shot. So for Lily and Ruby’s online fan club who might otherwise get withdrawal symptoms, I thought you might like to see one of their baby pictures, taking when they were 10 weeks old, just after we got them back in the summer of 2017, seen here on my lap while I am wearing my Palestinian embroidered kaftan. I called this photo “I love my sister.”
Clothes
No real kitties this week but here are some kitty fashion items! This is the baggy batwing top that I bought at the craft show last year, covered with kitties large and small. A very useful garment because it goes with so many things! I am wearing one of my bead necklaces and my favourite pair of kitty earrings.
House and Garden
The garden
Some photos of our flowers which are all coming out, and we are amazed how much growth there has been since the recent rain.
Indoors
We had to call the plumber/gas engineer the other day because we suddenly didn’t have any hot water. The boiler was long overdue for a service. I had made the decision to change to a different plumber because our previous one, delightful and charming man that he was, was unreliable and half the time wouldn’t turn up when he was supposed to. A neighbour of ours who has been doing fantastic building work on his property, recommended a new plumber to my hubby, and when I phoned him, I knew at once that he was going to be great. He said he could come the next day (yesterday) but in the meantime, when I reported to him that the display on the boiler indicated from the book that the problem was low water pressure, he talked me through the process of putting this right! I told him that I was also having problems bleeding the towel rail radiator in my bathroom, and he said it was due to the same problem. I have to bleed it every few months as the top rails become cold, and he said that every time you bleed, you lose a little bit of pressure, and eventually it will get to a critical level and the boiler will shut down. I now know what to do, which is fantastic!
He came as arranged, and took the front off the boiler and explained to me how everything worked! What a guy. He was really passionate about his work, a family man running a family business started by his grandfather, so no fly-by-night operator here. He serviced the boiler and said that despite the fact that it was long overdue, it was in remarkably good order.
I also asked him to disconnect the gas fire in the sitting room. This has always been awkward, with the lighting mechanism being right down near the floor (my hubby can’t get down there!!) and you often had to turn it multiple times before the pilot would light, and then last winter, it stopped working altogether.
This is what the fire looked like – photo taken back in 2016 when we had the sitting room decorated. (Art Deco stencil = my design, as is the colour scheme.)
In our old house, rather than maintaining an open fire with all its attendant work and mess, we purchased an electric fire with the most realistic flame effect I’ve ever seen. When we moved, I wish we’d had the gas fire removed at the time so we could use this, but it ended up in my studio not being used at all. It now has pride of place in the sitting room.
There is a hole behind it, and you can see some of the original fireplace brickwork. The plumber took out a large amount of soot and it’s a bit of a mess behind. Also, the electric fire doesn’t quite cover the edge of the new tiling, so my hubby is in the process of making a plywood panel which will be put over the hole.
One of the great things about this electric fire is that you can have it with just the lights. This has an amazing psychological effect – you feel warm just looking at it! We used to have it like this while the central heating did the work of heating the room. With the gas fire, when it was off, it just looked dead. There are three different temperature settings (including cold) and three different fan speeds, so lots of choice. I am thrilled to have this fire back in operation again!
It has real coal. There is a moulded orange plastic piece underneath which diffuses the lights, and over time,a couple of holes appeared in it, presumably where the bulbs got too hot (I shall now be replacing these with LEDs), and I was finding it difficult to stop the coal falling through. The plumber took the coal effect pieces out of the old gas fire and some of these are large enough to cover the holes and give a better foundation for the coal effect. Problem solved!
He said that they rarely fit gas fires these days. They require the same yearly safety maintenance as boilers, and nowadays, people much prefer electric fires (which come with remote controls – ours is a bit too old for that) and better thermostatic control. He said they are often asked to take gas fires out for this reason, so I think we’ve made the right move. I’m loving how it looks, and once my hubby has fitted the panel, I think it will be perfect.
That’s all, folks! Hope you have a great creative week, and I’ll try to do better with visiting everyone this week!
Hi Shoshi. A busy week. I think I wouldn’t have had the patience with that cardigan – it would probably have gone the length of the room several times, and then I would have given up. Well done for persevering.
Take care. Stay safe. God bless.
Margaret #3
Another interesting post!
Well done you for persevering with the cardigan, it looks amazing.
Love the Banana Curry recipe, PJ and I are on a ‘curry binge’ at the moment, well, while the cold was here – it’s back to salads now. I have printed out the recipe though and WILL try it, let you know how we get on.
So pleased you found a reliable plumber, I think we all need this with CH. I love your fire, we have an electric imitation log burner and love it.
Have a good week and take care
God Bless you both
Christine #25
Blimey Shoshi, you have some patience to redo the button bands etc like that – it would have ended up in the bin with me! The end result is worth it though, it’s a lovely colour and deserves to be worn with/out shoulder pads, lol!!
Hugs LLJ 8 xxx
Wow well done on the cardigan – i know I would have given up . Looks great but don’t put the shoulder pads in ha ha. I love your garden and cat accessories . Have a great week. Soojay #17
Canny move, not explaining the flames till the end of the post! Glad it was just a ‘faux’ fire, I bet that’s lovely on a cooler day than today. I have been I-padding in the garden but beginning to think a little siesta might be in order. The colour of that cardi is just gorgeous, As you say I’m sure a bit of a press will sort it out. Our old girl had a bit of a wobble last week – we honestly thought she’d had a heart attack or something but she perked up after 30 mins and by last night she was out defending her territory again. 18 this week (well as near as we know). Stay safe, stay well, happy Woyww Cindy #11
wow your new plumber/engineer sounds perfect! the fire looks fantastic. Re the cardigan, I would have thrown it across the room several times in frustration!! well done for preserving your patience. I await the finished result with interest. Have a good week. Helen #1
Oh y friend Martin (we used to teach together) would love your room. I always remember the first time I visited his small terraced house i was amazed at how he had decorated it. He and his father had done it all in Art Deco style. Martin loved the period and they had made sun-ray doors and everything. Martin was making a beautiful big mirror in the bathroom at the time.
He has since met and married a lovely lady and moved away from the area (we went to his wedding) but with her influence it is not completely Art Deco. Yours is lovely and he really would like it. Thanks for reminding me of those days long ago.
Oh how you had the patience to keep attacking the cardigan with such enthusiasm I will never know, it would have ended up in a bag never to be seen again with me. I don’t have patience like that but i do admire yours and I like the finished product.
I don’t often make biscuits but my lockdown ones have all been a success but not so my scones. I used to win prizes for my baking but never entered the scone section and tried some today for the second time (this recipe with lemonade and cream that looked delicious and foolproof) – no, they were a bit better but still not scones.
Love the photo of the kitties when they were younger, that would be a favourite of mine. They are adorable. Thanks for including them.
Hugs, Neet 8 xx
Happy Very Belated WOYWW. Like you, I have really struggled with time going too fast. Well done for your patience with the cardigan. After seeing your photos, I now want to bake some biscuits! Ali x. #35
1995 – wow, I can’t even remember that far back – I think I was at uni in Budapest and Windows 95 came out! That’s not a UFO but rather a relic LOL! A cute reminder of the kitties when they were little – I don’t remember seeing that particular photo before. When you said kittie fashion, I thoroughly expected to see them all kittied out in little outfits – but this is almost as good! Love the earrings! Lovely plants too – it’s so rewarding to watch them grow. Just looking at that fire makes me sweat – heat or no heat – you’re right it does have a psychological effect – one that I don’t need at the moment – it’s been unbearably hot around here today! Happy WOYWW! Enjoy your week, Shoshi and give the kitties a tummy rub from me! xx
Well done on the cardigan. I find it is difficult seeing if biscuits are cooked when they are dark to start with. What with your knitting, crafting and cooking you must be such a busy person. That photograph of the young kittens is so adorable and seems to have set the scene for them as they grew older, nearly always together. We have a gas fire, but rarely use it, but flames are comforting whether they are real or fake. Your Art Deco design is brilliant x Angela #33
Nice to see you re doing the cardigan button holes, too lovely to throw away though I’m sure you wouldn’t do that. The fire place looks amazing. Wishing you a happy week and a very creative woyww, Angela x19x
Morning, Shoshi!
You have so much patience! that cardigan is lovely and I can understand your perseverance. I’m inclined to agree with your husband with the shoulder pads. I see quite a few of those 1980s flamboyant coatigans at festivals and played around with removing the shoulderpads but realised that they added structure and put them all back.
Your banana curry sounds (and looks!) really interesting. Fruit in a curry seems so 1970s (Vesta, anyone?) and I rarely come across it in India although I did enjoy a jackfruit one at a trendy gastropub last summer.
What a shame about the first lot of biscuits, after my success with the peanut butter ones I haven’t baked anything else (for a trained chef who ran restaurants for years I don’t do much cooking!)
I love your elegant living room and your fire looks like the real thing, hooray for lovely tradesmen.
Lily, Ruby and the stunning kaftan is a great photo and I love your batwing top and single plait. The earrings are fantastic.
Enjoy the sun in your lovely garden! xxx
Hi Shoshi, it does sound as if you have a gem of a plumber there! There was one of those gas type fires in this house when we moved in, as you say a complete nuisance to try and light.Love the art deco decoration and colours, beautiful. Wonderful that you have your old fire working again. Lovely pics of the garden, and such cute kittens, weren’t they? Stay safe, Have a good week, Hugs, Shaz #5 X
Hi Shoshi, Sorry for the late visit. There really are not enough hours in the day at the moment. I think you win the perseverance award this week. The colours on the cardigan are lovely. I have nothing in my wardrobe from 25 years ago – if I did, it definitely wouldn’t fit me now. Lovely photos of your garden, and your Art Deco lounge – my auntie had a very similar fireplace and mirror. I will check out your banana curry recipe, as I do make banana curry occasionally but never to a recipe, and it always ends up slightly different. Thanks for visiting earlier, I agree with the retail therapy on crafty goodies and clothes, although until I lose some weight I don’t want to buy any more clothes. Have a lovely week, and stay safe and well, Heather xx #4
There are so many things I would like to comment on in your post – I loved reading it.
Would love to try those biscuits!
Adore the cat earrings!
Congratulations on the persistence over the cardigan at the beginning – I think I would never have got as far as 3.1.1…
Oh and the art deco frieze – just gorgeous!!
Happy Crafting!
Susan #13
I love your electric fire! The one thing I miss the most about our old house is the woodstove, and your fireplace replicates it quite nicely. In Canada gas fires are the norm I think, also with remote controls, and if the power goes out you still have heat from the fire. Your sweater is quite the challenge! Good for you for persisting, it looks lovely! Say hi to the cute kitties, give them lots of snuggles from me, Inky and Mittsy! Have a wonderful week, Lindart #29
I think you deserve a patience medal…I dont knit but I do know that another 25 years in a box because of the band would definitely be on the cards if it were mine! Great job SHoshi. I like a shoulder pad, probably because my shoulders are so round, so am not going to discourage you!
It has been a busy week for you Shoshi. The UFO is looking good, you must have an awful lot of patience lol. We need to replace the mixer tap on the bath as the shower has stopped working with the old one. Hubby is determined to do it himself, although I would rather call in a plumber to do it. The garden is looking brilliant. I can’t believe how much the kitties have grown! Meow to Ruby and Lily. Stay safe and happy WOYWW. Sarah #7
Fair play for tackling the cardi, looks great and I certainly dont have the patience to knit I must admit. The garden and fireplace is looking fabulous too (and pleased you found a better heating engineer too, a good one is worth their weight in gold!).
kyla
I am so impressed with your perseverance! Well done you – the end result looks lovely. I also was enjoying the Great British Sewing Bee and laughing at the 80s fashion. I had to smile at your biscuit description – my husband likes soft biscuits so he persuades me to reduce the timing on recipes so that they stay fairly soft! Sorry I am late visiting. Take care and stay safe. With love & God Bless, Caro xx (#9)