Festive Friday

A few Fridays ago I blogged about mini Christmas cakes made in a baked bean tin, and I said to keep one empty tin back and this is why! It is now time to marzipan and ice your cakes. I usually have a few days between each stage, but for Festive Friday I have combined them.
So ...
Turn your little cakes uspside down, you may need to slice a little off the old top so they don't wobble. You will be left with a lovely smooth surface. In the photos Pickle-Lily forgot this step, but it really doesn't matter!
Then brush a little melted apricot (traditional) or raspberry seedless jam over the top of the cake to make it good and sticky.

Then using your clean tin as a cutter, you can cut a perfect sized circle of marzipan to put on the top of the cake. You can also use it to cut out a perfect matching circle of fondant icing to put on top of the marzipan.

The cakes can then be decorated with whatever you like!

We then wrapped our cakes in small clear presentation bags ready to give as Christmas gifts. You still have time to make some to give!
Have a good week-end!

Festive Friday is back!

Pickle-Lily is making our big Christmas cake with the guides this year, but we also make mini cakes at home, which make lovely gifts.

Mini Christmas cake

So now is the time to bake your fruit cakes. This mix makes five mini cakes.
For the mixture you need
100g butter
100g of soft brown sugar
340g of mixed fruit
130g plain flour
1 tsp mixed spice
2 eggs

Cream the butter and sugar together and then beat in the eggs.
Fold in the flour and mixed spices.
Stir in the fruit.
Now the clever part! For the tins I use small baked bean tins - you'll need the sort with ring tabs. Give them a good wash after you've eaten the contents, and then using a tin opener, carefully open the the bottom of the tin. Let the bottom you've just cut drop through to the top. The cut edge will rest nicely on the small lip left by the ring pull lid, and voila you have a mini loose base tin. Be careful as the base is sharp!

Mini loose base tin for free!

I then lined it with a double layer of greaseproof or baking paper (no need to grease!) and filled my tins with the mixture.

5 little Christmas cakes

Bake them in the oven at 120 C fan / Gas 1 for about 2 hours - this timing really depends on your oven, and you may need to cover the tops with some foil or baking paper to stop them from burning.

allow them to cool on a cooling rack

When they have cooled, wrap them in greaseproof and then foil. I did mine individually and store in a cake tin. You can feed them if you want to.
A simple way to marzipan and ice to follow!

P.S. I was going to do a separate post for Handmade Monday, but as usual I ran out of time! Why not go and visit everyone elses blogs and see what they've been up to?

Festive Friday - I'm a Spring Chicken

'I'm a Spring Chicken, I'm yellow and small

My feathers are fluffy and they're keeping me warm.

My legs are not long so I'll never be tall

But I'm a real spring chicken and I'm having a ball!

All the teachers and mums will be cursing me now as you'll go around singing this all day! Thank-you Out of the Ark Music click to listen on line if you don't know the tune.
So inspired by the song I have created my very own spring chicken.

Spring Chicken

Cast on 30 stitches using 4mm needles and double knitting yarn.
Garter stitch 18 rows.
Cast off.

A chocolate egg can go inside - or you stuff him!

Sew up one side and across the cast on or cast off edge - whichever is tightest.

Turn right side out.

Using some of the long ends you have probably saved because you can't waste them, sew some loop at one corner for the tail.

Then sew,  using sewing thread, two googly or wobbly eyes at the other corner. Using another long end of orange yarn, sew a couple of small loops as the beak.

At this point you can either stuff the chicken and sew up the open edge, or leave it open to sit on a chocolate egg.

I have used lavender yarn to create a lavender pekin (actually a bantam) chicken and red, white and blue for coronation chicken - sorry no photos as son has the camera on his school trip to WWI battlefields. But you can let your imagination go wild with any types of chicken you'd like to create.

'Chicken, I'm a chicken, and I'm having a ball!'

Have a lovely week-end!

Jo x

Festive Friday - Kung Hei Fat Choi

A week late, but as the celebrations can last for up to fifteen days I feel I am allowed a little lee way.
A make for this then ...

Knitted fortune cookie

a knitted fortune cookie!
I made these to put in my role play Chinese Restaurant at school, to encourage small people to write messages or 'fortunes' on. You could send a message to a loved one for Valentine's Day, Mothering Sunday or just pop it in a lunch box!

To make -
Using double knit wool and 4mm needles cast on 12 stitches.
Knit (garter stitch) 1 row.
All rows are garter stitch.
Increase 1 stitch at each end of alternate rows until 20 stitches. I like to pick up the loop after the first stitch and before the last stitch as it gives a neater finish.
Knit 10 rows.
Knit 2 together at beginning and end of alternate rows until 12 stitches.
Knit 1 row.
Cast off.

It will look like this

Now sew the cast on and cast off edge together.

The join the two side pieces together on the straight row edges, like this

Leaving a channel to put your message in.
Very simple, designed for my daughter Pickle-Lily to knit but fun.
Jo x

Festive Friday - Felted Christmas Tree Decorations

Welcome to this week's Festive Friday

Felted Christmas Tree Decorations

I made these to use as either Christmas Tree Decorations or as a decoration on a gift. They are very easy to make using any pure wool. I used Rico's Creative Filz yarn to make these. Instructions are on the Felted Tree Decoration page.
Don't forget to enter the Fifty Follower Giveaway.

Festive Friday #3 - Happy Diwali

Knitted Diva lamps

For Festive Friday today, a make and a bake - well actually no baking just mixing!
The make ... Knitted Diva lamps, I have said before that I will knit almost anything!

Knitted diva lamps

Version 1 - horizontal rows

Cast on 30 stitches using 4mm needles.
Garter stitch or plain knit 24 rows. I used a self stripe double knit yarn.
Join side seams.
Gather up one end and pull up tightly, bind and tie. Turn right side out so the seam is on the inside. Repeat at the other end and push inside tube to make a cup shape, sew a few stitches through both ends to hold in place.

Version 2 - vertical rows

Cast on 16 stitches using 4mm needles.
Garter stitch or plain knit 50 rows. I used a self stripe double knit yarn.
Sew cast on and cast off edge together to make a seam.
Gather up one set of row ends and bind and tie. Turn right side out. Gather up the other set of row ends, bind and tie. Push this end inside tube to make a cup shape. Use a few stitches to hold in place.

I used  battery operated tea- lights (mine came from Hobbycraft) and earthy striped yarn, but for Christmas you could use glittery, sparkly or any colours you like. Thought these would look great on my stall, especially on evening events or in a Diwali display, child's bedroom ...

And the bake ..

Barfi sweets

 On the Bake ... page. Delicious, can be made and eaten at any time of year, and again any colour you wish!
Have fun this week-end
Jo x

Festive Friday #2 - Mini Mittens

Mini Mitten decoration

For this week's Festive Friday Pickle-Lily proudly presents .... Mini Mitten decoration!

Using Sirdar Snowflake Double knitting and 3mm needles cast on 24 stitches.

Knit 6 rows - garter stitch. Change to main colour in double knit.
Purl 1 row.
Knit 3, Make 1 by picking up the loop between stitches, knit 6, make 1. knit 6, make 1, knit 6, make 1, knit 3 (28 stitches).
Purl 1 row
Knit 12, make 1, knit 4, make 1, mnit 12 (30 stitches).
Stocking stitch 3 rows.
Knit 12, make 1. knit 6, make 1, knit 12 (32 stitches).
Stocking stitch 3 rows.
Knit 12, make 1, knit 8, make 1, knit 12 (34 stitches).
Purl 1 row.
Knit 22 stitches, turn, purl 10 stitches - on these 10 stitches stocking stitch 2 rows (this is the thumb). On these 10 stitches knit 2 together 5 times (5 stitches). Cut yarn with a long end, sew or pull end through the 5 stitches and pull up tight (bind and tie). You can use this end to sew up the thumb.
Rejoin main colour to the last stitch you knitted on right hand needle (stitch 12) and knit across remaining 12 stitches (24 stitches).
Stocking stitch 7 rows.
Knit 2 together twice, knit 6, knit 2 together twice, knit 6, knit 2 together twice.
Purl 1 row.
Knit 2 together to end.
Bind and tie as at the thumb tip.
Sew up sides of mitten and thumb if not already done.
Add a twisted cord to hang. See knit page for link on how to make one.

Enjoy!Enjoy!
Jo x
P.S. Pickle-Lily will be at the Craft and Retro Fair at Leigh Village Hall (near Sherbourne) this Saturday 10am to 3pm.

Festive Friday #1

I am such a big kid as I love Christmas!
Having taught the younger age range for soooo many years I have been lucky enough to have two Christmas's a year - one at school and one at home! Every year on the first school day in December I would get out the school decorations and decorate my classroom, we would have a Santa's workshop and I could build a sleigh out of an upside table and some seats ( and lots of fabric!).

I also for many years bought Prima Traditions Christmas magazine - made the Nativity costumes and knitted the gifts, but it hasn't been published for about ten years.  I was so surprised and pleased when I found this

on the supermarket shelf this week. It is brilliant! Absolutely chocked full of great ideas and makes, like these

 

And so many more great makes. The magazine is £3.99 and well worth it.
Because I love festivals so much - Diwali and Hanukkah also featured heavily in school celebrations, and don't forget Halloween and Bonfire Night - the blog will have some Festive Friday features (I love alliteration!) up until I run out of ideas!

Happy Friday!
Jo x
P.S. Pickle-Lily is at Brent Knoll Village Bazaar and Farmer's Market tomorrow 10 to 12 noon.