Adventurous Kitty

 Gift pattern of my tiny Adventurous Kitty. Ideal for inserting in keyfobs, phone cases and cards.

This little Adventurous Kitty design is aimed at the confident beginner and beyond. Two Kitties are provided already filled with Bedfordshire Lace and Honeycombe ground. The Kitty Template is left empty for you to put in your own fillings. Use a picot edge for a fluffier Kitty, add colours, add sequins, add a new ground, be adventurous! Prints out at A4.

 
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Celtic Knot Cross with Cluny Halo

 Fresh off the pillow, my own Celtic Knot cross with Cluny halo design.   I am relieved to leave the crossing over of trails for a while and now turn to something less fiddley to do.  

Created by lace making over one of my own drawings, l thought the knot section at the ends of the arms would be simply a case of lifting one raft of bobbins over the other but this was not the case.  I had to introduce a short length of matching trail, sew in and tie off to create each end knot .   

The green leaf tallies are made in a continuous length. They are plaited behind the trails and not seen when the piece is turned over. l didn't know until l took it off the pillow if this would work, or if the green plait would show through. Fortunately, l think l got away with it. 

Muaiga Muffins

In my customary 'made up as I go along' manner, I make cakes the same way.   This is the latest favourite bake.  It's all about making it as simply and least messy way possible, I am not a fan of cleaning up mess afterwards. 

I don't usually weigh ingredients, so this time I have put the bowl on a scale and set it to zero before adding the next ingredient. 

Not sure why, but I started with the fat, half margerine and half peanut butter this time, it looked about right to me and the scales say 116g this time. 

I usually use much soggier bananas, often two rather than one and add more flour, oats, maybe coconut to off set the wetness.  This time I cut up a small eating apple into little bits and cut the banana about the same.  

Next the eggs go in.  These lovely posh orange yolked eggs were not as large as normal so I chucked 3 in. 

Sugar weighed in at 107g, I don't use much sugar, the fruit is often sweet enough but I tipped the jar a bit too fast.  To offset the sweetness, I didn't add the sultanas or coconut. 

Couple of handfulls of rolled oats.  Forgot to weigh them!  I like to throw these into any wet mixes because they hold the cake together well, are good for old folks and make it easier to carry on walks etc. 

Good old self raising flour.  173g this time, could have added more, would have made more cakeiness to wrap around the fruit but it was enough this time as the banana wasn't over ripe.

Forgot I had these crystalized ginger pieces so cut some up and threw them in. 

Chocolate chips - yippee!  (I may have saved a few in the bag for my secret stash, shhh!)

Yes, I admit it, I use my marmalade making spoon for cake too.  It has a long handle and I put my mixing bowl on a stool so it's easier to stir stuff up.  It is a bit stiff to start with but soon blends with gentle folding.  We like the lumps of fruit so no point whizzing it all up in a mixer (and creating more fuss and washing up).

This looks about right.  A good batter consistancy and plenty of lumps left.  I could add more flour or oats but it seems to cook better left like this.  I didn't put any spices in this time, you can add any you like, personally I go for mixed spice and maybe a bit of molasses or black treacle for a winter cake. 

Makes 6 or 7 large muffins (or cakes as we call them).  I always use an extra little tin to make one for my Mum who likes to cut a little cake into pieces. 

Middle shelf of the oven at gas number 3 or 4 (the numbers have rubbed off the dial) for about half an hour.  Test with a clean cool knife poked down the centre, if any mixture comes up, then it needs a bit longer, if melted chocolate comes up, you can lick that off later. 

Also known as battle cake, these are particularly handy on walks, shoved in a pocket or handbag.  There are not many cakes you can do that with!

Happy caking!

Logrithmic Bow - Updated June 2024

Pattern has been updated, and made available in 2 sizes to allow for different paper sizes in US.  Now in A4 and US Letter size. 

Digging through my old designs, I found this experimental logarithmic Torchon lace pattern.  

I made a few of these using the basic pricking with different stitches drawn on by hand. 

Seems a shame to leave it languishing in the dark so here I present another little gift for those who like to play about with a pattern.

It takes 18 pairs, you can add in gimp threads, or some extra passive threads at the edges.  

New A4 size pattern

Letter size pattern

Old Pattern