Introducing Freetime Knits

There comes a time when a knitter has to say, okay, enough, my cupboards are overflowing with yarn and I just can't hoard any more. Well, not without hoiking up the floorboards and using the recess as additional storage-cum-home insulation. 

Despite an imminent home reorganisation as I prepare for a new career as a home-based writer and designer, I'm facing the prospect of confronting my yarn stash head on and asking it what we both expect to get from each other from this point on. 

Freetime Knits are those I'll be knitting on the sly
when I probably should be working

Are we getting anywhere and making sweet handicrafts together or do we need to take a long hard look at the amount of time we spend in each other's company and decide whether we aren't really wasting each other's time a little, however fun this dalliance may be? 

Fleetingly, the thought occurs to me that I may have given up my day job in order to indulge my knitting and other obsessions. Really, though, that's just the guilt that has been drummed into me. I'm looking back at nearly 20 years of education swiftly followed by almost as many chasing a career and the elusive prospect of being settled with a home of my own. It's taken this long to be sufficiently in my own place mentally and legally. Some 'me time' is due. 

With no 'natural' career break to have kids, travel the world, write that long-promised novel or return to study, a pause is in order. I may even soft-pedal a while if my conscience allows. (Mainly, I'll probably be blind-panicking about the lack of freelance work I've managed to attract.)

What I probably won't do is stop knitting. I'll just rethink what my knitting's for and marshall my multicoloured flock into some semblance of order once my home becomes an office. My downtime - those 'resting' pauses in which actors indulge and writers perhaps blog or tweet - may well be spent idling clicking needles together. I create because I can - and because I am. 

My knits won't be commercial (I'm neither skilled nor speedy enough) and I'll try not to pressure myself heaps about knitting up a storm in order to bestow the softest and sweetest of gifts on family and friends. But if in my freetime I build up a modest pile of neatly worked stocking stitch sweaters and toys that grew in my downtime hours and could potentially be sold for a song, well, that's just me, okay. Freetime Knits from a free-spirited, newly enervated me. 

About a bag

Mum finally has a handmade knit. The design is simple but striking, with ridges of knits and purls pulled across and tethered to create a smocked effect. Having discovered I just can't cope with lace patterns (at least not yet), smocking has been a very welcome discovery. 

The finished Daydreamer handbag
I made mum for Christmas

I used the Daydreamer pattern from Emma King's 25 More Bags To Knit and stuck fairly rigidly to its instructions. Rowan Big Wool is one of my favourite yarns, so this was no hardship. I did use slightly smaller needles than specified (12mm rather than 15mm), but both are listed on the yarn band as suitable. The yarn is a little greener than the blue-green I had in mind, but contrasts well with the pink DK I used for the smocking. 

Bag handles are few and far between, as I've found on previous occasions when looking for the ideal handle to complete a bag I've been making. I couldn't find a D-style handle I liked, so instead have U-shaped faux bamboo ones. 

Lining fabric is less of an issue, especially since a metre of a luxury fabric such as silk costs £10 but can be used for at least three projects. My sister in law recommends Indian sari shops for even better deals than my local fabric shop, Lewisham's Rolls and Rems. 

I used a layer of stuffing from an old pillow to make the wadding for this latest project. I'd originally hoped to keep costs down by using a vintage fabric in the form of an unwanted garment for the lining, but the silk added a luxurious touch to what was an otherwise fairly homespun design. 

I should have placed the handles a little more carefully and I think the bag is better for having been sewn up more than the original Emma King version at the top, but overall, I'm pleased with the results.

The Daydreamer bag from Emma King's 25 More Bags To Knit book

Coconut milk panna cotta

Panna cotta seems to be very fashionable at the moment and I'd like to be able to come up with a version that I can eat myself - meaning no gelatine - and a version that will appeal to the dairy-avoiding Hindi members of my family. 

i was pretty excited to find both variations online, but actual recipes rather than anecdotal reports of their success seemed elusive. The only thing to do was give them a try myself. 

Add report here

The other fun thing about panna cotta is it's the perfect foil for caramel. Watching the early rounds of Masterchef: The Professionals made me want to give sugar-only caramel making a go - and to try out the swirls and cages that can be created with just a pan of sugar as a starting point. 

Expect some caramel-inspired comedic disaster tales some day soon.  

The Great Christmas Knit begins

I hope to present Mum with an Emma King 

Daydreamer handbag this Christmas

It's no accident that knitting and craft magazines are currently being given prominence on the racks at newsagents and supermarkets up and down the land. We like nothing better than a homemade knit, homemade decorations (though that's rightly the domain of school craft lessons, in my opinion) and a bit of home comfort. 

I'm not immune, of course. No sooner had the latest issue of Let's Knit dropped through my door and I'd learned that its Let's Get Crafting-based sister title was touting eight whole balls of wool as an incentive gift on its front cover, than I was plotting my visit to the nearest large branch of WHSmith to bag myself a copy. 

Given my recent abortive attempts to create proper garments with too little yarn, eight balls sounded like a surefire winner. As it happens, I've resisted the urge to buy the magazine after all (it's a great deal, but a mix of colours wasn't quite what I was after)

Nonetheless, this weekend has very much been about planning out the knits for the coming weeks and working out who's getting what and what I can fit in to my post-work evening knitting schedule. 

First priority is a knit for mum. My big plans for a cardigan ended up being scrapped due to poor planning and I'm hugely conscious of . Having scoured my books and magazines, I've chosen an Emma King Daydreamer handbag I think she'll like. It's a Rowan Big Wool knit, so it will be speedy to make. Sticking with the recommended wool for this one and already have the necessary bamboo handles. Assuming my smocking skills and the yarn colour come up to scratch, Mum may finally get a Rosie handmade knit this Christmas. 

Naturally, I couldn't resist the lure of online yarn shopping even once I'd ordered some Big Wool, so a 'standby' order of reddish yarn with which to create the Peony bag from Let's Knit and some Sirdar Chunky to create a simple hat are also on their way. Time to invest in some more storage…

Potato and root vegetable gratin

The nights are drawing in and comfort food is just exactly what's called for. Gratin offers an indulgent and tasty supper that is very quick to prepare and can be adapted to include whatever alternatives you happen to have to hand. 

The recipe here is based on the Potato and Leek Gratin recipe on the BBC Good Food website, but without the ham and with carrot, extra garlic and rosemary rather than the bay leaf of the original. 

Sweet potato gratin also works well and adds a dash of colour to what could otherwise be a fairly bland (though very tasty) dish. To reduce the starch content, try substituting some of the marries pipers for parsnip or turnip. 

The gratin can be served with a green salad and tomatoes - amazingly, I'm still harvesting the occasional cherry tomato, even though it's November. On this occasion, we're having gratin and steamed broccoli as accompaniments to a slice of vegetable quiche for the vegetarian and veal for the carnivore. 

Ingredient list

800g maris piper or other large potatoes [larger ones are easier to peel]; peel and thinly slice

2 large leeks or combination of leeks, carrots and other root vegetables; slice thinly

100g cheddar or other grating cheese

300ml double cream

150ml milk

125ml vegetable stock

2 cloves garlic; thinly sliced or crushed

1 bay leaf or sprig of other pungent herb

butter to line baking dish

salt and pepper to season

Method

Combine milk, cream and made up vegetable stock in a pan and set to simmer. add garlic and herbs. 

Butter gratin dish and arrange vegetables evenly. Add seasoning and pour cream and stock mixture over the top. Sprinkle grated cheese on top, cover with aluminium foil and place in the middle of an oven preheated to 180 degree C. 

After half an hour, take out, remove foil and spoon some of the liquid over the top to keep things moist. Return to the oven and cook for a further 40 mins or until the potatoes are thoroughly soft and the top of the gratin nicely crispy. 

Warning: this dish retains its heat, so you should give it 10 minutes to cool down before serving, the wait also allows the ingredients to firm up and hold together. 

Think before engaging needles

A salutory tale of why you need to think before you knit

I love this cardigan in Brownwyn Lowenthal's Love To Knit

I've learned an awful lot over the three years I've been knitting. It's a good job mistakes are there to be learned from, as I've certainly made my fair share. Two projects in particular stick out like a matching pair of sore thumbs this year: the Bronwyn Lowenthal cap-sleeved cardigans I embarked on and which have both stalled to a halt. 

The summery yellow version I was making for myself got pushed to one side when I found the complexities of the lace upper parts too advanced for my still fairly basic knitting skills. This isn't a real disaster as I really like the pattern and the way the pattern is taking shape, so I'll pick it up again when I'm feeling a bit more confident. I already have a better idea of how lace knitting works than I did when I started the cardigan, so this one's merely on hold. 

The second top is an entirely different matter. It's a classic case of having grand plans and rushing into them. The yarn I bought is rather too textured, but the colours are ever so pretty and my Mum will love whatever I end up making for her with it. Unfortunately, she won't be getting the cute cover-up cardigan I'd intended. 

I bought the Auracania yarn in a sale and wasn't careful enough about checking how much I'd need. Add the fact that I was using a one-size pattern that would be rather snug on my mum, so I was knitting on slightly larger needles, and it's probably no surprise to find myself two thirds of the way through knitting the cardigan's back with only one and a half skeins left. 

I may 'upcycle' this into a cute bag

One more skein would probably have been enough to complete the project, but a thorough scout online revealed I'd lost the opportunity to do so - it's just not onsale anywhere, even through eBay or overseas. There's nothing to be done but to lick my wounds and accept that I can't take this knit any further. My saving grace may be to turn the existing work into a small bag and salvage something from the work I've put in so far - upcycling by necessity, if you will. 

Banana and Kiwi Cake

This recipe is adapted from one in the Australian Women's Weekly book of baking. I had a glut of kiwi fruits - I'd picked up for a bagful for £1 from the lovely Sunday market near London Fields. 

The original recipe called for passion fruit, but these are a lot less easy to come by in London unless you're really on a mission. 

Here's the basic recipe with amendments noted: 

125g softened butter

165g soft brown sugar

2 eggs

225g self-raising flour [I used plain flour with 3 teaspoons raising agent]

1 teaspoon mixed spice [my version omitted this]

3 small ripe bananas

210g soured cream

60ml semi-skimmed milk

Passion-fruit icing

240g icing sugar

1 teaspoon soft butter

2 tablespoons of passionfruit pulp [pulp of 2.5 large kiwis used instead]

Butter and sugar beaten together. Add eggs one at a time and stir in. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients, followed by the sour cream and milk, then the banana. 

Once everything is combined evenly, transfer the cake mix to a lined 15x25cm loaf tin and cook at 180 degrees C. Cook for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn out on to a cooling rack. 

Make the icing by combining icing sugar and butter - very messy. Mix in the passion fruit or kiwi pulp. Using a flat knife, spread the icing over the top of the cooled cake.