Mama made Monday - stripey jumper.

It seems ages since I actually finished knitting something, but here is a little jumper I've made for Poppy.

The yarn is Sirdar Juicy DK, which is a bamboo viscose and cotton mix, lovely and soft.

The pattern is just one I made up as I went along; the front and back are basically both stocking stitch rectangles, with a few rows of garter stitch at the top and bottom.

I put 6 buttons and buttonholes at the top to hold the shoulders together.

The sleeves have garter stitch cuffs, then stocking stitch gradually increasing to end up wider at the top.

Strawberry ice cream; no ice cream maker required!

Pour one can of condensed milk and one 600ml pot of single cream in a large bowl. Whisk with electric mixer until frothy. (You can use double cream which will give you a richer ice cream; whisk until thickened, but be careful not to over-whisk.)

Open a tin of strawberries, squash strawberries up (reserve juice from can for smoothies) and add to cream mixture. Mix it all together with the whisk. (You can of course use fresh strawberries but I find tinned ones are squishier.)

Pour into a loaf tin which you have lined with cling-film.

Freeze and slice!

Mama made Monday - nappy soaker

Today I'd like to share one of the more useful things I have knitted - a wool soaker.

It was the first thing I knitted on a circular needle. (Actually it is the only thing!!)

Here is Poppy wearing it at around 6 months.

And here she is wearing it today at just over 2 years old!

I used this pattern.

Birthday cards

A birthday card for a fellow cardmaker, stamped and hand coloured.

A card for my mother-in-law, cupcake is stamped and hand coloured.

And a card for my mum, a perpetual dieter! Stamped and coloured again.

With another picture on the back!

Mama made Monday - felt food

I've said before I'm not the sewing sort, but last summer I had a bit of a fad on making things with felt.

The cake was made using a kit my husband bought for me, but the sandwich was created entirely from my imagination!

Of course there were grand plans to make enough stuff for a pretend picnic - but that plan has yet to come to fruition! Poppy does like playing with the cake though, so more cakes might get made soon.

An unseasonal scarf

I bought this shocking pink snowflake pompom wool for £3.99 in a sale, and couldn't wait for winter to knit it!

Soft burger rolls

Home made bread is great, but sometimes you don't want it crusty!

These rolls are lovely and soft, great with burgers.

This recipe makes 6 generous rolls.

Mix the following ingredients into a dough; 1 egg, 4 fl oz milk, 3 tbsp butter (actually I used I can't believe it's not butter!), 2 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 cups bread flour and 1 1/2 tsp yeast.

Knead well, and leave to rise until doubled in size.

(I do all this in the breadmaker.)

Punch down the dough and divide into equal sized balls, place on baking tray and leave rise for 20 - 30 mins.

Brush tops with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.

Bake for 15 minutes at 200 deg C.