Knitting know-how... invisible cast on

There are several ways to cast on, but this is a less well known method than the popular thumb and cable methods (and if you don't know what your method is called, it's probably one of those two). To be completely invisible it should be used to start a single rib, but I used it with stocking stitch (see photo above) to create a lovely neat decorative edge.

It is not a complicated method - if you can cast on, you can do invisible cast on.

To try it out, you will need:
2 different yarns - the one you will use to create your work and one in a contrasting colour
A pair of needles in the appropriate size for the yarn
Scissors

Step 1
Using the contrast yarn, cast on half the number of stitches you need using your usual method. You must have an even number of stitches and you will end up with an odd number of stitches, double your original count minus 1. So if you start with 10 stitches, you will end with 19.

Step 2
Knit the first row and purl the second row (stocking stitch).

Step 3
Join the other yarn to the piece and work 3 rows in stocking stitch, ending with the wrong side facing you (so the next row is a purl row).

Step 4

Purl 1 stitch. Then pick up the first loop of your main colour from where you joined the yarn to the work. Put this loop onto your left needle, take the yarn to the back of the work and knit the stitch.

Purl the next stitch and then pick up the next loop, taking the yarn to the back and knitting as before. Keep doing this until you have picked up all the loops along the row and purl the last stitch.

Step 5

Using your knitting needle or a darning needle, unravel the contrast yarn.

You can now commence either in single knit 1 purl 1 rib (starting with k1 on your next row and p1 on the following row because of the odd number of stitches). The photo below shows the single rib using this technique.

Don't forget to leave a comment about whether you found this helpful or interesting. Happy knitting!

No rest 'til Monday

How did the weekends get so busy? On Thursday night I start thinking about what I might get done at the weekend... some family time, catch up with the housework, some sewing and knitting for my online shops, perhaps even some chat and promotion in the forums. Yeah, right! Meanwhile, back in the real world, I've promised to make two cakes (one fruit, one chocolate birthday), the children have a birthday party on Saturday, mum's birthday party is on Sunday after the Remembrance Day Parade that our little beaver J must attend. Then there's the firework display and then.....

It doesn't stop! Roll on Monday morning, I need a rest.

Friday round up

Where to go...
Visit a Wetland Centre (http://www.wwt.org.uk/ is the home of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust) for birdwatching and conservation in action. My local centre (http://www.wwt.org.uk/visit-us/welney) in Welney has a pond room and eco friendly visitor centre as well a heated observatory and cafe, so even the rain can't spoil the trip.

What to watch...
Has to be Strictly! I'll be watching with 6 year old J, who still bemoans the fact that Tom and Camilla aren't on it this time.

What to eat...
Something warm and comforting. For lunch try grating an apple and strong cheddar and mixing with chopped walnuts and a dash of worcestershire sauce. Spread a thin layer of mustard on thick slices of granary bread (toasted on one side) - you can leave this out for children - and sprinkle on the cheese mix. Grill until bubbly. For a light supper, roast a red onion and cubed carrots, butternut squash and sweet potato (I roast in butter and oil combined). Whizz in a blender with some veg or chicken stock and serve with fresh bread.

What to buy...
Treat yourself to a new hat or wrap to snuggle up in this winter. I love the selection at moocowhandknits.etsy.com, especially the autumn beret.

Have a good one :)

Sniffles, sneezes and snot

Every member of the family woke up with the cold this morning. T has had it since Monday (the 3 year old man version of a cold! Very dramatic with lots of heartbroken sobbing and woe is me wailing). Baby has had it a couple of days, lots of snot and mild crankiness, needs lots of comfort feeding. J just wants tissues to take to school. Hubby and I are pretending we haven't got it because we haven't the time to feel sorry for ourselves!

Hubby is very much a Lemsip man, or these days more likely paracetomol and orange juice, but I have always believed that cold remedies from the pharmacy are not so much remedies as symptom suppressers and that my cold actually lasts longer if I take them. I usually just put up with it until it's gone. This time, though, with a baby to take care of (and having had my asthma worsen) I've been looking into alternative ways to at least make myself feel a bit better.

Top of the list for me is chicken soup, purely because I'd planned to do something with chicken for dinner so it makes sense to have something that will do us good whilst still being tasty! I was going to put in a link to a recipe, but there are so many out there that I'll let you do that bit yourself. The science bit:

1. The liquid part of the soup helps replace all the fluids lost through feverish sweating and runny noses.
2. Chicken soup is hot and hot can help to loosen mucus (yes, I know it's yucky, but you need to know this stuff). The steam helps prevent congestion, too.
3. The garlic in the soup has antibiotic and antiviral properties. It also works as an expectorant (more yuckiness - it will help you cough up phlegm). To maximise it's healing potential, use squeeze fresh cloves through a garlic crusher.

To complement the paracetomol I know hubby will take, I'm going to make my own version of Lemsip - quite simply, honey and freshly squeezed lemon juice in hot water. To increase the beneficial effects, mix honey and lemon together and consume as is. The thick gloopy honey will soothe your throat, making it easier to swallow and apparently can also trap bacteria so they can't move around. Lemon, aside from the vitamin C contribution, helps make swallowing less painful by stimulating the production of saliva.

Other natual remedies worth trying are:

• ginger (antiviral, pain relieving, antiseptic and antioxidant) - make a tea with it, cook with it, add it to a fruit smoothie
• peppermint helps with headaches and (inhaled) can help clear sinuses

A final tip I picked up - avoid heavy, processed foods and fill up on water, juices and soups. The extra liquids will keep you hydrated and your body will be able to devote itself to fighting off the cold, not digesting dinner.

One last thing - if you think you have flu, swine or otherwise, you should seek medical advice. Have a happy and snot free day!

Greener Every Day Month

30th November is Buy Nothing Day, a good opportunity for me to take stock of all the things I buy that I don't need. On that day, I plan to review my shopping list and perhaps reduce it a little.

The Green Parent celebrates the day with a Buy Nothing Month, very laudable but a challenge too far for me this year! Still, I am inspired to make a real effort and I will be doing something green every day this month. Call it my Greener Every Day Month.

I'm already on catch up as it's 4th November and I only read about the Buy Nothing thing today. Happily, I have been seriously decluttering my bedroom to make room for baby's cot and it meant moving the fabric mountain leaning precariously against the craft/fabric/linen drawers (2 very tall towers of them!). This evening, 2 large bin liners of fabric were collected by a fellow Freegler (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fenlandfreegle/) and I have offered a box of cross stitch supplies. I also passed on a ginormous box of clothes that my little boy had outgrown, that was yesterday. So that must add up to 3 days worth of greener, surely? And as it's only 9.25pm, I have a bit more time to do today!

PAUSE

The pause was for me to turn the thermostat down on the heating, doing my green deed for today. (And I will keep it turned down, too.)

Isn't it amazing how so many green things also make financial sense? One of the best ideas I've come across is the idea of an eco sabbath, a period of time (afternoon, day, whatever) where you buy nothing and use nothing - no machines, no cooking, no using resources. I might put that in my diary for later this month.

And in case you were wondering, yes, I did feel a small pang watching that fabric disappear out of my door! I was brutal in my cull and I arranged for a speedy collection so that I didn't rummage in the bags again 'just to be sure'. So, feeling a little sad, but the joy of all that space to keep my recycled and organic fabrics neatly arranged and immediately accessible more than makes up for it.

Green bathing!

Saving water... How much fun do they have in the bath now that baby has her own little bath seat to sit in?!

At last! And a quick 'how to'

Finally, I have made enough things to list in my new Etsy shop, Baby Wears Handmade (http://babywearshandmade.etsy.com/). I am celebrating with this lovely new blog, in which I hope to bring news of an eco friendly organic kind. This will be a green and cuddly blog.

So, the quick how to...

Smothering my children in suncream all summer has ruined many of their t-shirts, especially the paler ones (that yukky yellowing around the neck) so I can't hand them on to anyone else. Some of them are just too pretty to be cut up into dish rags, though. The embroidered trims (flowers, butterflies etc) are often in perfect condition. To reuse them, cut out leaving a space all around the edge and then iron on some fusible interfacing (helps prevent fraying). Then, using very small, very sharp scissors, cut carefully around the shape as close to the stitching as you can without actually cutting the stitches. Now you have a perfect patch/trim/embellishment/brooch. Happy recycling!