Ooh, the second post in one day: my, aren't you spoilt. I've got quite a few things to tell you, and I just couldn't wait to share more yarny updates. Look away now if you're currently experience yarn overload!

I've finally caught up with the Noni Knitalong. This week: sleeve ruffles.

Ruffles.
















I'm not a ruffle-y person. Ruffles, I think, are best kept on aprons and doilies. Knitted ruffles? Ick. But the Ella Coat really does look lovely with a ruffley edge ... so I've decided to throw caution to the wind and stick to the KAL script.
















The point of this particular KAL is that we're given tweaks and interesting alternative options as we knit-along with the designer, Nora. You can see some the pattern tweaks on her blog. This week's tweak was to choose whether you wanted to stick to the ruffle from the original pattern which created a softer, slightly more subdued ruffle, or opt for the super-duper-ruffle-explosion-extravaganza she recommends for the revised pattern.

Guess which one I chose.

I had already intended to knit the ruffles (I had originally accidentally typed 'fuffles' there, but now that I think about it, it seems rather fitting) in a deep red/yellow/burgundy striped yarn which you may remember from this post. As you can see above, that yarn has been swiftly replaced by some rather attractive lavender-coloured Rowan Romance I picked up at the Creative Stitches show I went to two weeks ago.
















Here you can see the transition from sleeve (knitted in 'blackberry heather' colourway) to the lavender/dusty pink ruffle. I un-picked the first two rows of the sleeve and re-knitted them with an additional strand of pink mohair (pre-strung with size 8/0 czech glass beads) which I carried on through the body of the ruffle. The beads are an assortment of lilacs and purples, and you can really only see the darker ones in the picture above.
















The colours go together really well, and you can see the beads a bit better in this picture. Now, I just need to be brave enough to wear something pink and ruffley out of the house! I originally made purple owl buttons for this coat, but I think I'm going to reconsider my purpley choice and opt for something to break all these purple hues. Green pea pods, perhaps?

How is already the last week of February? Last week it was New Year's Eve, then suddenly it was Valentine's Day, and now - March is in sight.

Sometimes we all just need to slow down a bit. For most, that means sitting down and enjoying a few of our favourite things and one of my favourite things (in case you didn't already know) is yarn. I love yarn. I love to walk into yarn shops that have enormous shelves from ceiling to floor, stacked with balls of colourful softness. I love the potential of yarn, ready - waiting to be knit into your favourite projects. I love the way that yarn looks when it unravels out of hanks and skeins into neatly-knitted rows of perfectly-shaped Vs. I admit, I even put yarn on display in our house sometimes ("Stacey, what's the wool doing on the dinner table?") or insist that the OH smells how lovely it is.

It's not odd.
















This is what has been on my table this past few days. It's Araucania Aysen yarn, hand-dyed from yarn-makers in Chile. It is beautiful, striped, patterned yarn. Each batch is hand-dyed so you can never get two hanks the same. It's precious yarny Alpaca treasure.

















The colours in this yarn dye-lots are sensational. They're warm and full of personality. Some of them are nicer than others, but, on the whole, it's all down to personal preference.















I stocked up on Araucania recently when Stash Fine Yarns announced a half-price sale on discontinued yarns. I normally pick this range up at John Lewis when I absolutely have to, but at half-price - who can resist a bit of yarny inspiration and a bold splash of colour? It's not just for knitting inspiration: I often draw on yarny colour schemes when designing websites or other materials. I also use it to coordinate button designs. The list is endless!
















This yarn is wonderfully soft and comfortable, and it knits up really well. I've stacked up on 8 hanks of this oh-so-pretty inspiration wool and I'm planning on converting some of the lace-weight Ranco yarn into shawls, and the thicker DK Aysen into entrelac pieces.















... but for now, they'll sit on our dining room table so that I can admire them each time I pass by to get to the kitchen. Oh, hello there.

There are few things as wonderful as an unexpected call from a friend who lives 9000km away, and who has suddenly happened upon your local town for tea.

It is almost as if an impromptu tea date like this is filled with magic and the potential for all things wonderful. There's nothing a cup of tea can't cure, methinks. Or, in my case: a cappuccino with heart-swirled froth, served with a miniature ice cream.

















And, just in case you didn't notice it the first time (and because I was rather amused and delighted):

















Why, yes, that is a teeny tiny wafer cone filled with chocolate ice cream treats. This is, as you can tell, my second cup. The first one came with coffee-flavoured ice cream. Yum.

The lovely Anne and I met up at The Parlour at the amazing Fortnum and Mason's on Picadilly.

















F&M is a food-lover's heaven, with aged wooden shelves stacked up with treats and wonderful things like shortbread, fudge, biscuits, marmalade and suchlikes. They also do amazing homely things hampers, fabric pinboards, designer shower caps (!) and decadent soaps. While I'm on the topic, F&M are celebrating the Queen's Jubilee with all things British and wonderful, and I couldn't walk past the bottles of Majestic Marmalade without taking a photo. See what you think.






















Have a closer look. Do you see that the Majestic Marmalade has little floating bits of gold leaf in it? Majestic, indeed! But I digress.

The Parlour is a lovely tea-taking venue. It isn't too busy or too quiet, it is private enough for a cosy chat, and they have cake.

















This is their Sacher Torte, recommended by the charming waiter.

















And this is their Esterhazy Cake, which we chose because it was laden with hazelnuts and buttercream - who could resist?

We shared our cake and caught up - Anne was in London for the day with her brother who was on a business trip so we had the whole afternoon to ourselves. We spent hours browsing the F&M wares for inspiration and treats, and we made our way down Picadilly for a bit of browsing.

















Look! Heart cheese for Valentine's Day from Paxton & Whitfield Cheese Company. F&M is in an excellent location for a lovely afternoon, and it was the ideal location for our tea date. It's a bit pricier than the average tea shoppe, but I'd definitely recommend it for adding a bit of magic to an ordinary cuppa, especially if you have a few hours afterwards to enjoy the five floors of shopping and the amazing boutique shops nearby.

I'm not a heart-skippy, giddy-about-Valentine's-Day kinda gal. But I do like a good biscuit, and what better excuse to use my increasing collection of cookie cutters than Valentine's Day?

















So I made these. They're pretty-in-pink Linzer Heart Sandwich Cookies made using my scalloped circle and miniature heart cookie cutters. I was feeling rather out of inspiration, so I had a look through pinterest for some ideas and happened upon this recipe from Martha Stewart's website for Pecan Linzer Cookies. I changed the shape, as you can see, and I opted for home-made plum jam instead of cherry jam. I also sandwiched half of the cookies with jam, and the other half sandwiched with Nutella chocolate spread.

















They took a really long time to make. I'm a 'fair weather baker' (as Mister Bakercourt always says about football) and I really don't like to fuss over recipes when a simpler one will do. I've made some demanding things in the past (like the prinzregententorte!) and these linzer cookies were on par. You have to make the dough and then refrigerate for 2 hours. Then, you roll it out and refrigerate again for another 20 minutes.















Then you cut out, and bake. I made smaller biscuits than suggested in the recipe (they're just smaller than two inches wide) so it made about thirty biscuits (doubled, like you see above) and about thirty other shapes which I made when I got tired of cutting out scalloped/fluted circles. In between baking, I stored the cut shapes in the fridge. All in all, it took around fifty minutes more to bake the smaller biscuits on one tray at a time in the oven.

After they've cooled down, you need to reduce the jam for the sandwiching and that takes another ten to fifteen minutes in total before you can spread it, so I opted for some other fillings for the extra biscuits to pass the time. For interest's sake, these biscuits are really nice when dipped in melted chocolate!















These are really nutty biscuits (they have almost a cup of pecan nuts in them) and aren't very sweet, so it's important to use a nice filling that adds the right amount of sweetness for the biscuit. I added in a bit of extra sugar when blending with the butter, I doubled the cinnamon like I usually do, and they turned out really nicely. They're ideal for those who don't like double-chocolate-sugar-dipped cookies, but who still like a bit of nutty indulgence with a cuppa.

Here's the recipe again: Martha Stewart's Pecan Linzer Cookies with Cherry Jam

I know, I know - I've been a bad blogger. But I promise it's not because I'm lazy,  but because I'm oh-so-busy trying to keep up with knit-a-longs, designing my new website portfolio and making. There will be so many pictures for you very soon. I promise.

In the meantime, lookee here:


I was featured over at the South African Food and Wine Blog Directory! The lovely Jeanne interviewed me a little while ago and it went up on the 'spotlight' section of the directory on Friday. It's a quick glimpse into my foodie aspirations and favourite meals whilst stuck out here in London Town away from the deliciousness of my family's various kitchens.

In other news, I've been a-making. I know I mentioned it earlier, but now I'll be a bit more specific. I'm setting up an Etsy shop, and I'm making buttons. I love buttons. I delight in buttons. I have an enormous collection of buttons from around the world which I use in all of my projects. But, somehow, normal buttons are just not enough. I wanted buttons with personality, a bit of pizazz, so - I made 'em. And then I realised, but other people will want them too! What will they do when they need a good 'ol button with a heap of dazzle? Why, they can get them direct from Bakercourt, that's what! So: watch this space. Links, pictures, and whatnots coming very soon.