New Yarns !

Or yarny items !

There has been lots of knitting for Christmas , but it has slowed down with the January ennui.

Some was secret Santa , some was for gifts , some was for ME , and some was gifted to me .

I started the Middlefield sweater from New England Knits before Christmas and got a lot of wear out it during the really cold spell (even before I photographed it) . I love this sweater , however , the neckline probably should have been higher up to stop it slipping throughout the day. That said , it is a very cosy sweater , just perfect for a cold winter

Excuse the bad photography - there is never a photographer about when you need them!

This is the sweater after its first wash - kept its shape nicely . The yarn is Rowan in Pure Wool Aran , colourway Sage , and it took just under 4 balls . (Very economical , yarn cost approx £25 ).

The buttons are courtesy of our good knitting group buddy Marion . She was given some vintage haberdashery which she gifted to our knitting group . Buttons are a very dark bottle green .

I also received some lovely woolly , knitted gifts - my favourite being this scarf from my sister . The pattern is from Louisa Hardings' Little Cake book ,and the yarn is hand-dyed BFL aran by Breagha yarns (local hand-dyer) . It is so cosy and can be worn as a mini-stole too .

The colour is gorgeous , a testament to Innes' (the dyer) skills .

There have been lots of other yarny goodness , but more of that later .

Just now I am trying some new and not so new recipes' . One being Nigel Slaters "lazy Loaf (soda bread) . I think I may have done two things wrong . 1) not thin down the yoghurt enough and 2) not flattened the pre-baked loaf enough . It came out looking lovely but was still uncooked in the middle. The "ends" tasted good and the rest looks fine after another baking in the oven for 20 mins .

The recipe uses baking soda and natural yoghurt instead of yeast and water , and makes a tasty soda bread (have now eaten three slices!)

I am also cooking up some stock to make some stuffing that will go with my twice stuffed Roast Chicken . This recipe has parma ham tucked under the sckin of the chicken , and some in with the bread stuffing that goes inside the chicken . I have done this recipe before and it is very tasty. If I can't get hold of parma ham , some bacon does the trick too!

Looking forward to a tasty dinner this evening!