Friday 30 December 2011

Holiday Special with Subway Knits




Aplayfulday is kindly sponsored by Superknits, the home of super yarns for super knits. Please show your support for our playful friend by clicking on the link above- go on, spoil yourself!!!


Aplayfulday is also kindly sponsored by NorthboundKnitting. Please show your support for our playful friend by clicking on the link above. Also, don't forget you can enjoy 15% of all purchases by entering 'APLAYFULDAY' at check out- just in time for the holidays! Offer ends 10th January 2012.

Show notes:
There is a giveaway of epic proportions going on! The giveaway entries need to be submitted by 7th January 2012 and winners will be announced on the show scheduled for 8th January 2012. Check out the many ways you can enter for multiple entries:
1. Leave a blog comment on the giveaway post (this is counts as a double entry if you are a follower so please state that if you are!) Please don't forget to leave contact details!
2. Leave a comment in the Ravelry Group thread (you must be a group member to enter)
3. Tweet me about the giveaway
4. Write a blog post/ podcast about either the podcast, the giveaway or one of our wonderful contributors and send me the link to aplayfulday AT gmail DOT com. 

You can enter all 4 times, don't be shy, there's lots to be won. A huge thank you to all contributors and YOU for supporting the blog and podcast this year. 

I team up with Maria from the Subway Knits podcast once more to reflect on a year of podcasting, stashing and knitting. We talk about dreams for the future and of course, Jared Flood. 

Castle Pullover providing the background noise of needles clicking....

Brace yourselves: Blue Lagoon Ramen of DOOM

Love for all things fairisle in the form of Neep Heid.
Wishing you all a very happy new year!

Songs:
Fly, Fly, Fly by Adrina Thorpe, available on Music Alley
Auld Lang Syne by Friction Bailey, available on Music Alley
Contact me at: aplayfulday@gmail.com
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Featuring Superknits

Continuing my theme of highlighting friends and fabulous people, I thought it was time I told you more about my wonderful sponsor Superknits. I was extremely lucky to stumble across this friendship and therefore her YARN quite early on in podcasting. Not only is this lovely lady warm and intelligent, she's a super dyeing genius and all time record holding best customer service person ever! (try saying that 5 times fast). Also, I love trying to guess where her colourway names come from- it's a favourite game in the playful household.

psssst There's free postage within the UK till 31st December 2011 so get in quick!

1. Tag, you're it! Take centre stage and tell us who you are.
I am the person behind superknits.com where I sell lots of nice yarns including my own range of yarns. For many years I drifted along in the legal profession but woke up one morning realising I was quite unhappy with my life. I wasn’t really sure what direction to take so I left my job and took some time out to discover what I wanted to do. I’ve always been a bit craft happy and had been knitting on and off since my teens. There wasn’t anywhere locally to buy nice yarn so I decided to set up Super Knits to sell all the products I liked. Deciding to set up the business was the easy part; getting finance was much harder. Unless you own a house, banks generally aren’t interested in you, especially during the recession and especially if you’re unemployed and single. In the end I went to the Princes Trust but although they could provide a mentor, they wouldn’t lend me any money either as they no longer support retail ventures! I finally managed to get a small amount of finance from a bank which enabled me to buy stock and set up the website. I liked the yarns I sold but I couldn’t seem to find the sort of shades that I wanted. I like slightly off palette colours, dirty teals, spicy mustards and semi-solid greys. I couldn’t seem to find these shades anywhere so I went on a course to learn how to dye yarn. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed it. I love playing around with colours and for years I’ve collected paint charts, bits of wrapping paper with nice colours on, nice scraps of fabric. This seemed to really fire my imagination and I left the course feeling quite certain about what I wanted to do. I now sell my own range of hand dyed yarns through my website.

What helps keep you playful?
I’m a big reader. A few years ago I sold a lot of my books on ebay and that’s probably my second regret in life (the first is that I never got to see riverdance live). I also like taking photographs of flowers, animals and landscapes. I think it goes without saying that I do a lot of knitting. I am a cardigan and sock addict. I am taking part in a dozen shawls in 2012 KAL to try and curb this habit.

What is your guiltiest pleasure? (If you say X factor or Towie, I will remove you as Sponsor).
I am obsessed by medieval things. I love anything to do with the Tudors or the War of the Roses. It’s no coincidence that my yarns are named Bessie, Mary and Anne. I am thinking of studying for a history degree but I’m still a bit undecided about it.

I also love comedy, the sillier, the better. Neither of my parents have a funny bone and can’t stand comedies. I have no idea where I get it from.  

I love writing my blog as well. It’s a kind of outlet for all the stuff in my head and I do enjoy it.

I also rather love the Eurovision song contest. That has to be the guiltiest pleasure of them all.
 
What is your comfort food of choice?
I don’t have one particular comfort food of choice but I do like a biscuit. I am a grazer and I snack constantly. I like Cheddar biscuits, those tuc biscuits which are really salty with the creamy cheese in the middle and bourbon biscuits. I have a bit of a thing for Skittles sweets at the moment. I like cheap, naff wines like babycham and blue nun. A friend and I used to buy each other rip off wines, each trying to outdo the other, like a magnum of “Charlemagne” (rather than champagne) although that came to an end when we got a 79p bottle of wine, nicknamed “the basilisk” from a discount shop and it was like paint stripper. I also have a bit of a thing for teapigs English breakfast tea.  
 
What was your favourite childhood game?
My favourite games were the ones I made up (although I loved playing Hungry Hippos). The first was “fat bellies” which was a wrestling style competition for two people where you poked your belly out as far as it would go and then try and knock your opponent over using your stomach (no arms allowed).  

The second game didn’t have a name but was by far the most superior. My childhood home was at that time, a quiet residential street with few cars. In the houses nearby there were lots of children of a similar age so we would all play together in the front gardens or in the street. For this game you needed a skateboard and probably at least 7 children; 2 riders, 1 pusher, 2 stewards and 2 traffic wardens. The street around the corner was a steep hill. One of us had a massive skateboard (you can see where this is going). We were lucky that we were relatively small children so two of us would sit on the skateboard, there would be a relay of shouts of “ready” up and down the hill, the pusher would give you a good shove, gravity would take effect and whoooosh, off you went. You would travel down the hill, picking up speed, trying to stay on the pavement and the skateboard and then when you nearly got to the bottom of the hill the traffic wardens would have to check the road was safe. I clearly remember being on the skateboard and a child having to stop traffic in the road, the drivers looking extremely confused when a skateboard carrying two children ricocheted down the hill, over the road at breakneck speed and came to a halt by crashing into a conifer tree. And no, we never wore helmets.

When you daydream, where do you tend to end up?
I once spent a really enjoyable summer season working for the National Trust at Hanbury Hall which is just outside Droitwich Spa in Worcestershire. It is a beautiful part of the world. I worked as a talking signpost (seriously) and was based outside. When I daydream I tend to be back around that area, being outside in the sun with a gentle breeze, surrounded by green fields and having a nice slow walk up the hill to the church. Of course I completely forget that it poured with rain, the wind blew horizontally across the fields, there was a large amount of sheep poo and I once got so wet my underwear was soaked through. Happy days.

Quick! Zombie apocolypse, what do you do?
I would probably wish that I had read the Zombie version of Pride and Prejudice, like I had always meant to, as this may contain some useful advice. By this time I would probably have been eaten.

If you and I had a party, what would happen and who would come?
Well obviously we would have to make sure we had enough babycham for everyone first! I’ve been going to lots of formal events lately which is nice but what I really want is a proper old fashioned knees up, you know the sort that’s held in a function room in a pub with a cheesy dj on his little dj set (with the flashy light and the speakers), playing really rubbish music like Agadoo with lots of cheap drinks. We would need to invite at least one person who can remember the dance routine to Whigfield’s Saturday Night.

Any closing thoughts?
I have often wondered if dogs bark with a different regional accent depending on where they live.

Friday 23 December 2011

Festive

Jar Labels

I had planned a series of posts, chatting about all my festive pursuits but somehow I just can't find the words. In an effort to regain some festive spirit I'll post some pics and links to share some ideas of happy things.

Gift tags inspired by imake's blog post



Rosemary salt making from this recipe

Thursday 22 December 2011

Thank you

For being the best friend any girl could have


Sleep tight love.

Wednesday 21 December 2011

When life hands you lemons (and limes).....

It started off as a simple twitter 'what to do with limes that appear to be breeding'. 

I'd done it again, a mountain of lemons and limes that I keep adding to as you should always have a lemon in, you need it for so many good dishes. I apply the same rule to limes. Incidentally I don't know what all these great dishes are as I clearly don't use lemons all that often and as for limes? Well, yes. 

There were a number of suggestions and while I leaned toward a good mojito I realised I was still two presents down in the gift giving front. Curd? Yes. 

Well you'll have to forgive the naff instagram pic, I just couldn't wait to share this (especially if you too are pushing it in terms of time this year). I'm sharing a recipe I made up after reading 16 different food blogs. I might have got distracted.


Lemon and Lime Curd (makes a healthy 2 medium jar amount)
You will need
2/3rd cup lemon and lime freshly squeezed juice
1/2 cup caster sugar
3/4 stick of unsalted butter cubed and softened 
3 large eggs + 1 yolk beaten

1. Bring a pan of water to the boil and place a bowl over the top so it is not touching the water. Pour in the juice and caster sugar.
2. Once the sugar is dissolved, whisk in (slowly) the egg and keep this moving in the bowl for about 5-6 mins
3. Gradually add the cubes of butter, one at a time, letting it dissolve into the mixture.
4. Pour into ready waiting jars and don't steal some for you toast. It will thicken more as it cools.

Tuesday 20 December 2011

Featuring Voolenvine

One of the many joys of podcasting and blogging, is the people you 'meet'. I have been listening to podcasts for years now and was thrilled when Kristin began broadcasting. Pretty soon I was checking out her blog and thinking about the many ways in which you can use colour. This lady is stylish, charming and warm and she's agreed to an interview so that I can share her with all of you! Enjoy! 

Tag, you're it! Take centre stage and tell us who you are. 
Hi There! I'm Kristin, the host of the YarnGasm knitting podcast and blogger behind KnitNook.net! I live in Greenpoint, Brooklyn with my husband, where I work as a video editor and pretty much spend the rest of my waking hours knitting! I'm also Voolenvine on Ravelry and Twitter. 
You've just created knitnook.net. What is the concept behind this?
There are a few concepts, actually. Me and my husband are moving in several weeks-- but before biting the bullet, we tried to make our current place "work."

I  played with the idea of giving up my knitting room *gasp!* and carving out a smaller knit nook for myself in a larger room-- (Possible? Yes. Functional? No-- on both our ends, really. So we're moving! Yay!) 

Anywho, before the realization, I was browsing Etsy and Pinterest for nook ideas and was really inspired! I thought about posting my ideas, finds and things I like on my personal knitting blog, Voolenvine.com but I saw these potential posts developing into another kind of blog. Then I kept thinking about the name, "Knit Nook"… I couldn't get it out of my head! I just love the sound of it! So, I got the domain and the rest is history! 

Now that KnitNook.net has had a little time to grow, I have a better idea about where I want to take it. The combination of stash organization ideas, decor, design, interviews with other inspiring knitters, spinners, dyers, podcasters, etc.,--  I want it to be a place for other knitters to visit  so they can be inspired, get ideas and even share their own!  I really enjoy the interviews... I learn something new each time, and find it so fascinating that in a world of so many professions and lifestyles, we all have knitting in common!
As well as blogging, you also host a successful podcast, how did that come about?
First, it was 'KnitPicks', then I discovered 'Electric Sheep'… then 'Knitmore Girls'… and then 'Here's To Ewe!'… It was a domino effect. This podcast thing was so new to me, and so exciting that I wanted in on the fun!
However, it was a little difficult at first. Mainly because I'm not much of a talker. I'm usually a very quiet person and thought podcasting would also help me come out of my shell a bit. 

There were a few times I wanted to put the mic down, but the reviews and the kind messages I received from listeners definitely encouraged me to keep at it and I'm glad I did!
Once I became more comfortable in front of the microphone and had a basic format down it became much easier-- and fun! I really enjoy hearing from listeners and it's nice to know your audience is genuinely interested in what your talking about. I love my family and friends to death but none of them knit. Whenever I get excited or gripe about a project I can't expectcolour them to 'get it'…  The podcast is definitely a great outlet for that!

A noticable theme to your blog and podcast is colour and style, what influences your style and colour choices?
I've always had an appreciation for graphic design. I love playing with different fonts and colour schemes-- Also, I found Pinterest to be particularly inspiring. A majority of my pins are 'For the Home'-- Since I can't exactly pick up a paintbrush and renovate my own apartment (our landlord wouldn't be a happy camper) I channeled these ideas and designed Voolenvine.com and KnitNook.net as if they were real rooms! I wanted them to be inviting, fresh and cozy-- a place that I enjoy visiting! 
What helps keep you playful? 
Hmm… let's see
- Of course, knitting and the amazing community of knitters that follow
- My belief in unicorns
- Glitter (it makes everything better!)
- Only wearing dresses (put me in a pair of jeans and I'm a sad panda. I can't do it. I just can't!) 
- Occasional alone time
- A decent internet connection / cell phone signal
- Ice cream!
- A good glass of Sauvignon Blanc
- Photos of Corgis doing silly things. (see exhibit A)
- Diet Coke… Yes I'm addicted. Yes I know it's probably bad for me. ::head/desk:: 
- Saving the best for last, my husband and best friend, Dennis. He keeps me playful… and sane! (and vise / versa)
One of my favourite things to talk about is food, what is your trademark dish when friends come round?
Good timing! I recently fell in LOVE with my crock pot. I swear, if I didn't have to work, I'd fire this puppy up almost every night of the week! 
For my friends, I'd either have to make them my Spicy Beef Vindaloo, or Chipotle Tacos. I love spicy food! 
I'm a big foodie as well!--  but only cook unless it's quick and easy. During the week it's usually pick a meat and / or veggie…. chop it up and throw it in a pot. As for whether we're having Italian, Chinese or Indian… THAT, my friend, hangs in the sauce. ;) 
But yes… Crock pot FTW! 

What was your favourite childhood game?
I feel silly admitting this, but I really got excited about Duck, Duck… GOOSE! Probably because I enjoyed replacing "Duck Duck Goose" with other words like… "pizza, pizza, pepperoni!"  I was an easily amused child. 
If we're talking teen years, that's a totally different story-- hands down, Dream Phone! Most of the time, it would be Bruce saying, "You're right! I like you!" over that giant hot pink phone. *sigh*
There's a huge knit event, everyone is there, who is most likely to reduce you to a gibbering fangirl and why?
AHH! That totally happened this year at Rhinebeck when I approached Ysolda Teague! (Remember: horrible at making conversation!) I walked up to her and said, "Hi! I'm Kristin. [huuuge creepy grin] I really like your designs! … K bye!) and then just scampered off. I really just want to crawl under a log! Can I have a do-over?
If so, I'd also like to introduce myself to Spilly Jane, Alexis Winslow and Kirsten Kapur.

Share on random fact about yourself that not many people know
I'm going to be 29 next month and I still don't know how to drive a car. Growing up in NYC definitely spoils you with cabs, trains, buses-- and the fact that everything you need is pretty much walking distance. Getting my license is definitely on my to-do list! 

Any closing thoughts?
Thanks so much for the interview! It was fun.


Sunday 18 December 2011

Episode 19: The Season of Giving




Aplayfulday is kindly sponsored by Superknits, the home of super yarns for super knits. Please show your support for our playful friend by clicking on the link above- go on, spoil yourself!!!

Aplayfulday is also kindly sponsored by NorthboundKnitting. Please show your support for our playful friend by clicking on the link above. Also, don't forget you can enjoy 15% of all purchases by entering 'APLAYFULDAY' at check out- just in time for the holidays! Offer ends 10th January 2012.

Show notes:
There is a giveaway of epic proportions going on! The giveaway entries need to be submitted by 7th January 2012 and winners will be announced on the show scheduled for 8th January 2012. Check out the many ways you can enter for multiple entries:
1. Leave a blog comment on the giveaway post (this is counts as a double entry if you are a follower so please state that if you are!) Please don't forget to leave contact details!
2. Leave a comment in the Ravelry Group thread (you must be a group member to enter)
3. Tweet me about the giveaway
4. Write a blog post/ podcast about either the podcast, the giveaway or one of our wonderful contributors and send me the link to aplayfulday AT gmail DOT com. 


You can enter all 4 times, don't be shy, there's lots to be won. A huge thank you to all contributors and YOU for supporting the blog and podcast this year.



Off the Needles

Humanity Mitts by Denise Lotter in Rico Design Essential Soft Merino Aran
Rikke Hat by Sarah Young in September Yarns Essential Sock Yarn (discontinued)

On the needles
Stockholm Scarf by Knitted Bliss in Merino Cashmere DK, Artist's Palette Yarns
Man (or anyone) Cowl by Michael Wynnein in Sokkusu Original in colourway Deep Undercover

Festive Podcaster's Delight
Blog Like it's the End of the World
Brass Needles
CaithnessCraftCollective
Cloudy with a Chance of Fibre with details of Knitchat
CogKNITive podcast
Craftlife
iMake
Knitajourney
Knitcents
Knitmore Girls
Knitting Pipeline
Miss Elle Knits
Never Not Knitting
The Savvy Girls
Stash and Burn
Subway Knits
Yarn On Tap
Yarngasm

Poem featured: The Journey of the Magi by T.S. Eliot

Songs:
Fly, Fly, Fly by Adrina Thorpe, available on Music Alley
O Come All Ye Faithful by Merry Ellen Kirk, available on Music Alley
Silent Night by Kati Mac, available on Music Alley
Contact me at: aplayfulday@gmail.com
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Friday 16 December 2011

Giveaway Palooza

In the sprit of the season and all things playful I have a smashing giveaway for you all. To say thank you for all the support for both the blog and the podcast, I've pulled together some of my favourite people in order to bring you a giveaway of epic proportions. 

Please listen to this week's podcast in order to find out how to enter. I'm going to give you multiple ways to enter which means multiple entries. There's lots to be won so don't be shy, come and play!

So what can you win? Well I'm glad you asked. In no particular order:
A copy of the stunning Be Mine Collection by Rose Beck


A copy of The Uncommon Clouds collection from Lisa Mutch, along with a fabulous skein of fingering weight BFL/ Silk in the colourway 'nocturne'. 

A yummy skein of British Merino and Silk 4 ply Sock yarn in the colourway Ruby Ruby from travelknitter.

A beautiful handmade Riverstone Bracelet from imake


A fantastic handmade yarn and notions pouch from The Lollipop Stop

An amazing A3 print from the very talented Tillyflop designs



3 patterns from Robin Ulrich to take you into 2012 with a bang: the Bosc scarf, Katriel Shawl and Fontane. 


A cute handmade tea wallet from Mooncalf Makes for all those tea perfectionists out there.



A set of small but perfectly formed stitchmarkers from Stephcuddles.



And last but not least, from the talent that is The Uncommon Thread, a skein of Super Sock in the colourway 'Into Dust'.

Stay tuned....

ETA: ALL COMMENTS FROM 18TH DECEMBER WILL COUNT AS AN ENTRY. IF YOU HAVE ALREADY COMMENTED PLEASE FORMALLY ENTER IN ONE OF THE WAYS LISTED HERE. DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE CONTACT DETAILS! (rav name will do)

Thursday 15 December 2011

How do you like them apples?

Since I was little, I have loved story telling. I come from a family of story tellers and while we avidly read, the tradition of on the spot story telling and crafting something without a text has been a longstanding one. My grandfather's regular character was Jerry the Goblin, a naughty goblin I've gone on to share time and time again.

My stories tend to be whimsical, shocking from a blogger dubbed 'Aplayfulday' I'm sure. On Friday I went to an event that reminded me of this love having not practiced for so long. Sure, I inflict stories on the giant, often just before sleep kicks in but I've not crafted for a while. On Friday we went to see one of our favourite spoken word artists and he impressed upon the audience the importance of not losing story telling.

When our audience participation did not win the prize, I remembered the devil was in the detail and I found words littering my head. I wrote them down until I found somewhere to speak them. 

So in the way Polar Bear taught me:


What story did you tell today?

Monday 12 December 2011

When good things happen to bad preparation

Recently, I invited a favourite playful friend of mine round for dinner and raucous laughter. In the planning stages I pictured yummy food and merriment and looked forward to the date. I love this friend. She once suggested that rather than move out an old telly from our house that we just chucked it out the windows like rockstars. Her reasoning being that she'd always felt like a rockstar. I think you can see why we're friends.

However, on the afternoon of the planned dinner of jolity I realised I'd not thought ahead to what we would eat and what I would cook. In desperation I looked in the fridge and scrabbled in cupboards and came up with this:
It was a start. Chorizo, garlic, chopped tomatoes and cannellini beans. With more focus now I returned to rummage and added this to the equation:

Now things were looking REALLY good; onions, chillis, muscovado sugar and Worcestershire Sauce, the saviour of many store cupboard suppers.

Now full of hope and excitement I nipped to our local green grocers and added just 2 more ingredients. (I also found a Daim bar in all that rummaging and consumed it happily while plotting my dinner of jolity. Don't judge me). 

So I give you, 'The (almost) Store Cupboard Dinner of Awesome'

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 large chilli, chopped and half heartedly deseeded
200g Spanish chorizo, peeled and diced
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
1 tin of Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped
2 medium to large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced.
1 tbsp dark muscovado
150ml of water
1 healthy slug or two of Worcestershire sauce

Assembly:
1. Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion and garlic for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the chorizo and peppers for a further minute, allowing the chorizo to release it's red juices. 
2. Add the tomatoes, sugar and pepper and water. Cover and simmer for approx 10 minutes. 
3. Add the sweet potato and Worcestershire Sauce and once again cover and simmer, this time for 45 minutes.
4. When the squash is tender, add the Cannellini beans for the last 5 minutes. Garnish with Coriander or parsley or whatever you local corner shop happens to have. 

Serve with a friend, plenty of laughter and fresh made bread.


Saturday 10 December 2011

A Holiday Special: Christmas with Hoxton Handmade




Aplayfulday is kindly sponsored by Superknits, the home of super yarns for super knits. Please show your support for our playful friend by clicking on the link above- go on, spoil yourself!!!



Aplayfulday is also kindly sponsored by NorthboundKnitting. Please show your support for our playful friend by clicking on the link above. Also, don't forget you can enjoy 15% of all purchases by entering 'APLAYFULDAY' at check out- just in time for the holidays! Offer ends 10th January 2012.

Happy holidays to all the podcast listeners out there! Here's a special episode to listen to while finishing those holiday knits and sipping some festive mulled wine. Cheers!

You can find the wonderful Hoxton Handmade and links to her podcast here on the Hoxton Handmade Blog (beware the sheep)

Recipe for Mulled Wine:
1 bottle of red wine
60g demerara sugar
Heat these in a large pan before adding a cinnamon stick, bay leaf and a few cloves.
Just before serving, add a healthy slug of Sloe Gin
Garnish with a mince pie in the other hand.

The Ugly Christmas Sweater Book

Songs:
Silent Night by Darrell Smith, available on Music Alley
Deck The Halls with We Wish You a Merry Christmas by Doug Boldt, available on Music Alley
Contact me at: aplayfulday@gmail.com
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Friday 9 December 2011

Treat yourself!

To celebrate the arrival of our new sponsor, today's post is brought to you with a promotional code to score 15% off at NorthBoundKnitting


Simply add the code 'APLAYFULDAY' at check out to take advantage of this yummy offer. Perfect for pre-Christmas treats and splurges alike. 



Offer ends January 10th 2012.

Wednesday 7 December 2011

Proudly brought to you by.....

It's no secret to any regular follower of the blog or listener of the podcast, I've been a huge fan of Lisa Mutch for some time. Lisa is the creative genius behind NorthboundKnitting: a gathering of  hand dyed yarn and fibre as well as strong and classic pattern designs.

Askew by Lisa Mutch

I am so proud to welcome Lisa as a new sponsor. I hope all of you will make her feel very welcome in our playful community. 

Fibre like this makes me want to spin...


psssssst ask Santa if he's bringing you any of these lovelies this year....

Monday 5 December 2011

Episode 18: Baby, it's cold outside




Aplayfulday is kindly sponsored by Superknits, the home of super yarns for super knits. Please show your support for our playful friend by clicking on the link above- go on, spoil yourself!!!

Show notes:
Stay tuned for some surprise holiday specials.....

The winner of Coastal Knits is: Catalina! Please get in touch as soon as possible so I can get the goodies to you!

I interview Stephen West of Westknits fame. 


Off the Needles
Purl Ridge Scarf by WestKnits in Madelinetosh DK, colourway Graphite.

On the needles
Humanity Mitts by Denise Lotter in Rico Design Essential Soft Merino Aran
Rikke Hat by Sarah Young in September Yarns Essential Sock Yarn (discontinued)
Stockholm Scarf by Knitted Bliss in Merino Cashmere DK, Artist's Palette Yarns

Review
A fully playful party for Socktopus by Alice Yu of Socktopus fame. Available from GMC or your LYS.

Festive Munch Burp Schlurp
I mix up some festive edible gifts, with a variation on this recipe for Cranberry Vodka. I added orange peel and am debating a clove, vanilla, and cinnamon mix next time.

I also share my last minute bread maker's gift hamper: pre mixed bags/ tubs of bread flour and seed butters in pretty jars. For the nut/ seed butters you will need approx 200g seeds or nuts of your choice and to crush them in a blender or coffee grinder. Add 1 tblsp of oil at a time till you get the consistency you desire (usually about 200ml). Keeps for a couple of weeks in the fridge.






Songs:
Fly, Fly, Fly by Adrina Thorpe, available on Music Alley
When gentle snowflakes by Steve Stellavato, available on Music Alley
The First Noel by Alison Crowe, available on Music Alley
Contact me at: aplayfulday@gmail.com
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