Knitting book review

(image from www.amazon.co.uk)

I borrowed this book from the library and it is due back this week, so I thought I had better get on with the review whilst I still had it here!  I was glad to find it in the library because I had been looking at it on The Book People's website for some time, and being a bit tempted to buy it.  Having borrowed it from the library, I'm glad I didn't succumb to temptation!

There are some very useful pages at the beginning with clear instructions on how to fix problems, so "fixing dropped stitches", "undoing stitches" and "unravelling rows" are covered with good photos.

However, I feel that the patterns do throw one in slightly at the deep end, with the first pattern being for a scarf and mitts combo, including thumbs on the mittens - something which fills me with dread! 

Other patterns at the beginning of the book include writstwarmers made in the flat and then sewn up, a bobble hat, and then we move very quickly into a round neck sweater which involves shaping and picking up stitches for the neckband.  There is also an intarsia cardigan with a shawl collar which is beautiful, and a Fair Isle tank top, worked from a colour chart.

The patterns are beautiful, but for a book which seems at first glance to be aimed at beginners, I think that there aren't enough simple projects for practising the generation of even stitches and good tension.  If you are an intermediate knitter, able to tackle "slightly tricky" knits, then this is a good book, I think.  If you are a beginner, I would say that there are better books out there to help build confidence and good practice in knitting.  The EFG had a look at this one too, and loved some of the patterns but said, "That's not for beginners."  Given the simplicity of the front cover pattern, one could expect a book like this to be filled with relatively easy patterns, but that is the trouble with buying books on t'internet - I love good old bookshops for browsing!

Calling Aberdeen folk.....

Ideas for relatively frugal places to stay if we want to go to visit the EFG for a few days please?  Probably travelling by train, so not in the middle of nowhere, but car hire a possibility....Self-catering would be useful too.  If you have students there yourself, where have you stayed?  If you are a native, where are the places you would recommend please?

I'm asking because the lovely flat we stayed in in March is already booked out :( Not quick enough off the mark with that one.  The YFG would like to go up to see her sister in our October half term. I'm trying to work out if I can afford it.

Many thanks!

Embarassed at the till

How do you think you would feel at the till if the cashier passed comment on the amount you had spent?

The YFG and I were in Lidl's on Sunday afternoon, standing at the till, a couple of people behind a lady and her husband who were putting their shopping through and packing it as the cashier checked it off.  They did have a trolley full of goods, and I was idly wondering how much it would come to, but even I was a bit shocked when the cashier asked her for just over £170.  I couldn't see all their shopping, and I would guess that for a trolley of shopping to have reached that value in Lidl, they probably bought quite a bit of meat, perhaps.

However, I wasn't prepared for the cashier to pass a comment on the shopping - along the lines of that was the most he had ever put through a till, and what a lot they had spent.....I don't think any hole would have been big enough to swallow me if someone had said that to me!

The lady was very dignified, and replied, "Oh, this is just a standard...." and I thought she was going to say "monthly" but she said "weekly shop for us" and then I was a little surprised.  She went on to explain that this was for her and her husband and three children.

My thoughts on the cashier's comments are that he had no right to discuss that family's purchases like that, and to embarrass the lady, making her feel that she had to justify her shopping.  Yes, she had bought a lot of food, but if he hadn't drawn attention to it, the rest of the queue wouldn't have thought much about it, and I certainly would just have thought that she was doing a big monthly shop.  If families can afford to spend that much each week, good luck to them - I will stick to my budget and think about what to say to a cheeky cashier!

Beetroot chutney recipes for Andrea

Andrea has asked for the beetroot chutney recipe.......I google myself these days, Andrea!  If you know that there is a recipe in the archive here somewhere, the easiest thing to go is to go to Google and put in "growing in the fens beetroot chutney" [for example] and the relevant posts will appear.

I know that I post recipes on here, but I don't always remember when I posted them, and I am far from organised enough to tag posts, so I resort to good old Google.

Here are the links to the beetroot chutney recipes I have posted in the past - the Sainsbury's magazine one and my mum's.  I hope the chutney turns out well, Andrea, and thanks for your comment xxx

Scratch that

One of the most basic ideas in thrifty or frugal cooking is to make food "from scratch" which means from the most basic ingredients, without the use of convenience or pre-prepared items.  I find that this is really the best way to get the most out of the food budget, because we are not paying for someone else's time and energy in doing some of the preparation work.

I was mooching around the internet on Saturday morning, having a little browse and looking for some new recipes.....as you do!  Occasionally, anyway.

I came across a link to an American lady's website, which promised frugal food, and there was a lovely looking recipe for Lemon cakes, which were made in a traybake pan, and the headline promised that there were only 3 ingredients for this cake - so I was intrigued.....

Headed over there, and what did I find?  Three ingredients?  Yes.  OK.  But they were ONE box lemon cake mix, ONE box instant vanilla pudding mix and some butter......I don't even know what the UK equivalent of instant pudding mix is, although I suspect it might be something like Angel Delight, but to say I was disappointed with that recipe was an understatement.

To make that from scratch would involve, I would think, eggs, flour, butter, sugar, lemons, perhaps milk.......and it would probably be cheaper than buying boxes of who knows what.  And I already have a good recipe for a lemon tray bake, so I am no further forward in expanding my repertoire!

The important things

The EFG sent me some photos of her room last night, and I have had a text exchange with her this morning, although we also had a long chat on the phone last night too!

She has a warm, safe space of her own.  Her bed looks cosy.  And do you see that pile of quilts on the end of the bed, right in the corner? That wee blue one on the top is one that I made for her as a pram quilt when she was a baby - and she has taken it with her for a tiny touch of home - I was touched to see that in the packing bags!

And my sister took her to Lidl's before she left, so she has a wee stash of food to be going on with!

Unfortunately, there is only a small fridge freezer to be shared between 5 people, and the rooms were previously for catered students, not self-catering, so there was not such a demand on the space.  Requests have been put in for a larger one, or an additional one, so they might end up with more room; the EFG is feeling like she needs to eat some of her fridge food quickly because she is taking up more than her share of the fridge space since they went shopping before they knew the size of the fridge!

I'm relieved that I have pictures of the room she is living in, and I have spoken with her at length.  She IS a wee bit lonely at the moment, but she hasn't had time to find many friends yet, only acquaintances, and I know from experience that once "normal" life starts on the 15th with lectures, labs, seminars etc, she will find it much better - this week always felt a bit weird to me, and I prefer the structure of the work!

Thanks for all your kind words and support!  We know we are not the only ones with a student just leaving home, and we are reassured that we will all be fine in the long run!  Hope you have a good Sunday - we have a baptism at chapel this morning so I am looking forward to that.

Friends

Friends continue to surround me with their thoughts and their love.  Even people we don't know that well are being incredibly kind.  The YFG's piano teacher turned up Thursday afternoon with this bouquet for me - quite out of the blue.  She is a lovely lady, also a widow who lost her husband to cancer several years ago, and she has been very supportive to me since the FH's last illness and death.  I give thanks for people like her - they are continuing to hold me up, as you do, dear friends, who comment and read and just send kind thoughts.  Thank you.