Changes to opening hours

Changes to opening hours.

Classes

Classes.

(1) Hanks Yarn Shop

(1) Hanks Yarn Shop.

Knit Club Chocolate Cookies

Knit Club Chocolate Cookies.

Knit Club Chocolate Cookies

knit club chocolate cookies

I am back from Holiday – lakeland in the snow. A spectacular part of the world and I found two great yarn shops to visit as well.

On our first day we visited Ulverston to get food and for me to visit Loopy - I great yarn shop in a really nice town with lots of interesting specialist shops and cafes. Andrea runs Loopy and she was great to talk to with lots of advice for me as new Yarn shop keeper. She has been in business for 3 years and is now in a great location in amongst other independent smaller retailers. I cant visit a yarn shop without buying something so I purchased Kate Davies new Book Colours of Shetland for some holiday reading – It is a beautiful and informative book with patterns inspired by the Island of Shetland. There was a bit of a theme going on with my holiday reading as I was part through the 3rd Shetland novels by Ann Cleve called Red Bones.

Walked everyday on the snow in freezing conditions – short walks long enough for us!

my knitted leg warmers were worn everyday

Then a visit to Kendall and Williams wools of Kirkland a very cosy shop full of yarn and books and comfy chairs to sit in – I bought some irresistible sock wool!! In the town on a tree there was this

williamswools yarn bombing
in Kirkland Kendall

 

holiday knitting

The chocolate cookies are for Knit club on thursday at Hanks Yarn Shop.

a new venture

The yarn shop is a reality. We got some friends in to help with putting up the sign. Having waited for dry weather and an evening when we were all free to meet at ‘Hanks’ the sky became dark and ominous. After a 10 minute thunder and lightening event we got the sign up. The Heavenly smell from the Indian restaurant across the road was almost to much to resist. Resist we did as food was awaiting at home. Another time, soon I hope.

Snowdon view Pizza oven

sunday we cooked pizza and bread and slow roasted a belly of norfolk pork in the oven in the garden – the pork and bread were really very successful. The pizza dough and bread was made with a mixture of wholewheat spelt flour and white spelt flour – a bit sticky but great bread.

today wednesday we are still eating the bread and last night we had a great bubble of greens potatoes and courgette with cold thinly sliced roast pork. Just wish i had some piccalilli to go with it !

the pizza were ok but they stuck to the trays and we were unable to slide them off for the final bake on the bricks.

We have to get some sort of ceramic tile I think to get better results and not oil the trays maybe?? Even so they tasted great topped with chorizo, goats cheese and rocket and some chilli oil ( chillies straight off the plant).

and here is the oven with a view of Snowdon in the background a lovely evening.

an oven in the garden

We have built an oven in the garden – we like to turn the Rayburn in the kitchen off in the summer because it makes the house to warm and it is hard to sleep well.

But there are somethings we like to eat that need to be baked.

Bread

Pizza

Potatoes

slow cooked roasts

some friends provided the bricks – taken from an internal wall no longer needed

so far we have cooked some sea bream and roasted some potatoes – and before we settled down to eat I pushed in a large casserole of  vegetables that slow cooked into the night. It was a bit of an experiment, but it turned out really well and we ate it reheated the next day. when you stand cooking at  our oven on a clear day there is a view of SNOWDON

socks and fingerless gloves.

finished some sock in the last week 

quite subtle colour changing wool from Zitron called trekking – really good to knit with, i think these are going to be a great pair of socks to wear. I made the heals and toes double strength by knitting with two strands of yarn across/around the row alternating on every stitch. Knitted from the toe up on circular needles.

also finished some fingerless gloves 

An unmatched pair – im looking forward to wearing them, I love winter and all the knitting that gets done in the long evenings.

Didn’t make a cake this week for the knitting group – we had shop bought biscuits instead.

Another knitting group cake.

Wasn’t going to make a cake for the knitting group this week. Thinking maybe someone else would bring one. Then late afternoon I thought better make one just in case. My mood has been a bit low and  baking a cake is always helpful. We have 3 chickens – Brenda,Ariadne,and Adriana and they lay the best eggs.Look at the colour of mix with their amazing eggs. Luckily there was half a box of desiccated coconut left over from when my daughter made me my favourite lime and coconut cake for my birthday last year. So I made a coconut cake with a gooseberry jam filling in the little oven.  Only one member of the knitting group turned up last night (other than me)- so the two of us sat there and chatted and knitted. But she did bring a cake with her. Lemon shop bought but locally made with good stuff. So I will be enjoying some of this coconut cake with a cup of tea in just a little while. Think we need more members !!