If you remember from this post, I've been getting things ready for the Noni Knit-a-Long which is happening over the next few months thanks to knitwear designer Nora Bellows. We've all been swatching, comparing notes, needles and yarns and we've finally (or maybe, I've finally) got around to the actual knitting bit.

Here's what my Ella Coat looks like after week two:
















As you can see, I've been enjoying catching up on crafty goodness with my NoniKAL homework and issue 10 of Mollie Makes. Speaking of which, have you seen the latest cover?






















Isn't it lovely and inspiring and just down-right ideal for Valentine's Day? Yes, I know, but I can't help it: I'm a bit of a sucker for vintage lace-knit wristwarmers in mint green with vintage fabric backgrounds and bubbling tea oh my.

Okay. Breathe. Moving on.


































The Ella Coat is shaping up well. I made the bodice a bit longer because my natural waistline, it seems, is a bit lower down than Nora's. I also increased the arm holes to match a lovely lady who is knitting faster than me. She's more experienced, and she is making the same size so it's a big help to follow her on Ravelry. I thought that the arm holes looked enormous, but they seem to be the same on all of the pictures that are being posted up, so I'm staying optimistic and keeping an open mind.
















I really like the colour of this yarn. It knits up in a lovely heathery dark purple and has variegated tones that are oh-so-subtle. And while we're here, looking at the lovely knittery that is the front of my coat, do you see my Sheepy Stitch Markers?
















They're part of a set of six I made for the NoniKAL project. I've been working on making buttons to match some of my completed projects, and, after a funny encounter with a ball of goat mohair that I purchased from Prick Your Finger, I thought -wouldn't it be funny to have stitch markers shaped like the animal you get your yarn from? And so these sheep were born, with a set of alpacas on the way, and some general knittery objects for acrylics. I've been toying with the idea of setting up an Etsy shop for some time now, so you will all have to come over there and support me when I finally take the leap!

I've got some serious button-making planned for this week to match a pretty little girl-sized coat I've had in mind, and some other bits and bobs on the go, so more photos later this week, I promise! In the meantime, I look forward to the NoniKAL week three homework... I really hope it won't be arms (my worst!) but I suspect it will as we've just completed the top of the coat. Ah well, at least there's always tea and sheepy stitch markers to see us through the worst bits.

I read a lot of foodie blogs and chat to a lot of lovely foodie writers here in the UK and around the world. Everyone operates using clever little blog names (mine is derived from the very first block of flats I lived in when I moved to the UK, Baker Court, which seemed fitting at the time of starting this blog!) or titles, and sometimes you come across one that really stands apart from the rest.

There is one blog title that I love, the aptly-named Baker Street which is full of lovely recipes and has lots of quirky design elements that draw inspiration from the London Underground transport system. Baker Street is a stop on the Circle and Hammersmith & City line, and is full of Sherlock Holmes regalia (plus, I can't help singing Gerry Rafferty every time I hear the name announced when going there).

Right-o, so that's a big long roundabout story about how I happened upon a recipe that was just calling out to be made. Cinnamon Hazelnut Shortbread. Yum. After reading the blog post I printed it out and stuck it on my fridge in anticipation.


















Here's a link to the recipe on Baker Street which she has adapted from Beth Lipton's book, You Made That Dessert. The book, by the way, looks incredible and utterly fool-proof, which makes it a winner in my book. I'm a sucker for can't-be-broken recipes, ideal for when you're having a bad day and want to bang a few pots around in the kitchen.

It's a good biscuit recipe that is very simple to make, and produces some tasty results. After seeing it day-in and day-out on the front of my fridge, I gave in. I doubled the cinnamon content because I fully believe that you can't have too much cinnamon with your hazelnuts, and I chopped up a handful of hazelnuts instead of using store-chopped nuts so the chunks were a bit uneven in size but equally delicious in taste.

The biscuits didn't have a particularly 'shortbread-y' texture, although the cornflour went a long way to giving it a starchy crumble. I would have increased the baking time by a few extra minutes - just keep an eye on the biscuits and catch them before they go brown.
















The end result was an ideal comfort-eating kind of biscuit, which is exactly what I wanted them for. For interest's sake, I halved the recipe which worked fine, and I baked them in a round tin which was the only thing I had on hand. They came out rather well as tall, shortbread chunks with plenty of nutty goodness to go around.

I have never learnt how to do embroidery. Never. In primary school our classes were separated into girls and boys, and the girls would do needlework (I knitted a rat as my first project) and the boys would do woodwork. Then, after about four or five lessons into the school term, we were all thrown into the same class for 'design and technology' where we would sand down cast resin, or construct bookshelves out of wood. That was definitely more my style, which was convenient as 'needlework' was done away with completely as a subject.

January is a time for New Year Resolutions filled with ambitious projects and good sentiments. Mine are mostly the same as yours. Together, we will lose weight this year. We all will spend less time working. We will finish the projects we start, and we will knit more ...at least I can get started on that last one! I've been completely inspired.

I first saw the pattern for these Baby Ugg Booties a few months back on Let's Knit Magazine's pattern archive. They're really cute, and would make the perfect gift for the latest addition to our circle of friends: Baby Tyler Agnew.