I make mistakes (sometimes) (quite often) (a lot really)

Posted on by bekswhoknits

And so a long weekend passes with plenty of football, season 6 of Buffy, and a bit of knitting.

I finished my ‘sexy vesty’ which is rediculously too short. Almost a midrif vest. But really who else can I blame but myself.
I finished a pair of socks (which I knitted two together) but failed at the last minute by opting for a regular bind off instead of super stretchy. They’re super difficult to get on now. Lesson learnt.
I also started two scarves but frogged them both because I didn’t like what they were doing.
It sounds like a bad knitting weekend but it wasn’t. Ok it was, but it didn’t seem like it at the time.

I also discovered knit princess and am now in live with this comic.

I’ve never been an avid reader of web comics. My dedication has only really been to queen of wands and it’s sequel punch n pie.
And scenes from a multiverse for entirely different reasons.

But knit princess speaks to me as a knitter.
I particularly enjoyed her camping series (even if I don’t agree with it). Some of the comments are very insightful too.

So I went to sleep last night peacefully dreaming of knit stiches, pretty yarn (I bought some from etsy a whole back and am not so patiently awaiting its arrival) and knitting comics.

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Does anyone know how to get rid of that hole when rejoining the heel to the rest of the sock? Or is it a curse of toe-up.
I had forgotten about that knitting mistake.

Guest Post – Her Name Was Greta

Posted on by bekswhoknits

I am so happy today, to bring you a guest post by the lovely Miss Stina.

It’s inspired me to get out my crochet hooks and learn a new skill. Thanks so much!

~~~~~
Hi!
My name is Stina and I have a blog called Her Name Was Greta. Beks made a great guest post at my blog during the xmas craze, which was a total blessing, and now I got the chance to give back a little. I’m very excited to be sharing my wrist warmer pattern with you, the readers of Polka-dots & Sparkles. The pattern is pretty basic and can easily be adapted to your personal taste. It’s not too hard to figure out if you’re a beginner and only uses two different stitches. I hope you’ll like the pattern and if you make a pair, or 20, please share links or photos! I’d love to see your take on it!

Materials needed:
1-2 skeins of DK yarn
a thin yarn in your colour of choice
4 mm hook
needle

If you are new to crochet, here are some videos to get you started:
how to start
how to chain
how to single crochet

Wrist Warmers Pattern


Chain 35


Join to a ring, be careful not to twist!


Single crochet around and around and around, until the tube is long enough to reach to your thumb.

To make sure your tube is wide enough to fit your wrist comfortably, test is after a few rows. If it’s too tight, start over and chain a few more stitches, if it’s too loose, chain a few less.


Chain 7, skip 7 stitches and continue single crochet for 6 rows.


Cut the yarn and fasten.
Single crochet 1 row with the scrap yarn.
Chain 3, skip 1 stitch, sc 1. repeat all the way around.
Cut the yarn and fasten.

Crochet another one!



This is what mine look like in this fake action shot. Yes, that is water in my teacup.

Guest Post – Her Name Was Greta

Posted on by bekswhoknits

Everyone head on over to her name was greta.

The lovely Stina let me guest post for her.

And while you’re over there spend some time looking at all the beautiful things Stina does.

She crochets, and bakes and has gorgeous cats to drool over.

Go on.
I’ll still be here when you get back.

busy little bumblebee

Posted on by bekswhoknits

Just a quick little update – December is going to be a very quiet month.
But I am working on a guest post for the endearing her name was greta.

In the meantime, I’m deep into Christmas knitting (some times it feels like a lost cause), busy with my new job (which is really awesome and challenging and I’m enjoying it thoroughly), and trying to fit the endless social engagements into my calendar.
As well as the more homely calendar items such as the carrots should be ready tomorrow!

But I am still around. You can always find me on twitter or instagram.
And I look forward to coming back refreshed and ready to blog in 2012.

I’ll probably still post photos of Future of the Left and Gotye in the next few days though.

Red velvet cupcakes

Posted on by bekswhoknits

this wonderful recipe for velvet cupcakes is divine.
Not that i’ve done extensive research, but my first try at red velvet was a success and i’m blaming this recipe.

Or mostly the recipe to turn ordinary milk into buttermilk.
I am never prepared enough to buy (or remember to buy) all the ingredients for a recipe. And buttermilk always seems like a waste unless I’m planning on baking scones and pancakes in one week.

So that pretty much sold the recipe. And my oh my it was delicious.

To the point that I baked them before dinner, iced them just before going to knitting group, and when I got home there was three missing.
They were really good.

Om nom nom nom.

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inspiration from around the web this week

Posted on by bekswhoknits

<a href="http://wildolive.blogspot.com/2011/11/story-of-making-your-story-book.html”>this DIY for making a story book, brought back memories of a pen-pal book my primary school best friend and I wrote with each other. Each letter was in an envelope which was then bound together to make a book.
If I recall correctly we had both read Anne of Green Gables, and so naturally it had a tragic ending, like so many writers club stories had.

it’s such a pretty watch – and a really easy DIY

this tutorial also posted at the hairpin has got me really excited for sewing again.
I have a car back and the first place I’m going is my local fabric store.
I need to find that perfect pattern for a dress that I can just make in so many fabrics it’s not funny. Maybe this modcloth pattern

This really cute thread holder cosy from Scathingly Brilliant.
Although first I need someone handy in my life (wouldn’t it be useful if I lived with someone who enjoyed carpentry – oh wait! I do!) who could build me a thread holder.

A Sparkley Silver Lining finally inspired me to design buttons for all my alter-egos (look to the right! woo – look at that. And whilst you’re looking right, why not check out my google+ profile – it contains the highlights of my daily google reader addiction)

And finally from etsy this gadget wallet. I’m pretty sure I can reverse engineer it and make it myself, but I need this in my life.
For those iPad owners around the place with iOs5 installed, the newsstand feature has free issues of magazines available. The
Mollie Makes magazine has an awesome tutorial on making a wallet. Maybe it could be adapted.
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blogging for confidence

Posted on by bekswhoknits

Allow me to be all introspective for a post. I was doing my usual blog reading / blog discover this morning and I kept stumbling across similar themes. Blogging for confidence particularly struck a nerve. Since this blog has just turned 1 (happy blogday to me!) it was a topic that I wanted to explore and write about.

I have always been the shy girl. The girl in the corner who dressed a little bit differently and thought about different things.
The girl who felt like Daria except not as smart. The loner in the corner of the library.
The girl who dressed in all black and read Anne Rice novels, when no one else was reading about vampires.
I wore headphones as shoelaces and got in trouble for wearing (fake) doc martins instead of school shoes.
I’ve had pink hair, purple hair, green, blue, and even tried polka-dots once. I’ve gone from a shaved head to nipple length hair and every style in between.
I always preferred to set myself apart. In my own head it was easier to accept that people didn’t like me because I wore too much eyeliner than they just plain didn’t like me.
I have struggled with my mental health. There have been some terrifying lows which I shall never forget.
High School was not easy.

It made my stronger, but I constantly look back and wonder why I had such a hard time.
Therapy helped.
But what has really helped is blogging.

Writing about things helps me stay on track. It helps me be a “proper grown up”.

It helps me get some perspective and some purpose.
There’s a strength I get from blogging.
It gets me out of the house. It gets me looking at the world in different ways.
I appreciate the beauty of things more.

If I was left to my own devices I could quite contently never achieve anything. I could sleep for days, never communicating, never seeing sunlight, living in my own little world with no one to bother me.
But that’s not good for me. I’m sometimes not the best company for myself.
So blogging, even if it’s just what I ate, what I wore, what I knitted, what I listened to, it makes me think about what I’m doing.

It makes me live.
And I’m very grateful for that.

This is why I blog.
Blogging has definitely got me out of my comfort zone, doing things that I never would have done before.
Hell, it turned me into a knitter.
I guess that’s why I relate so much to this challenge. Because I know how much blogging has helped me.

I may just try one or two of these challenges.

Chicken Casserole, courtesy of Not All Tea & Scones

Posted on by bekswhoknits

A recipe from the cookbook of the lovely not all tea and scones. As well as having some gorgeous photos on instagram, she’s working her way through the CWA cookbook.

My Great-nan (as well as being an inspirational woman) was a member of the CWA. She worked on a farm all her life, and these recipes remind me of visits to the farm.

So I’ve been wanting to try one of these recipes for a while. So when the bestie had to come over for dinner (because she’s just moved into the area and her fridge is being delivered tomorrow but she doesn’t have a tv yet and needed some company – yay for bestie being within walking distance) I didn’t want pasta, and I didn’t want salad, but I did want a casserole.

So this fit the bill.

Some minor alterations included the use of hp sauce ( just because), the tinned tomatoes being flavored with garlic and herbs (I love shortcuts), and not using two whole chickens (because I too was not feeding a football team).

The end result? Very delicious. With some vegies on the side, and some rice to soak up the juices, it had rave reviews.

Thank you CWA.

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my work browser officially sucks…

Posted on by bekswhoknits

…and it’s not letting me comment on anyone’s blogger today. Which absolutely sucks because I love commenting on blogs.
I just love leaving nice comments for people.
It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

So here are the comments that I wanted to leave – I hope you all have pingbacks on your sites.

I have no idea why it’s just your sites that aren’t working, because some blogger sites are and some aren’t.
One day I’ll get around to doing a blogs I follow side bar, for some reason the bloglovin one doesn’t work on wordpress for me.
Continue reading my work browser officially sucks…

Baking chocolate biscuits

Posted on by bekswhoknits

Because Sundays are made for baking. These are biscuits from a her name was greta recipe.

Delicious!!

A few minor variations to the recipe. Mainly in that I had white chocolate in the cupboard so I used that instead.
And I didn’t have enough butter, so I adjusted the mix at the end and added just enough milk to create the right consistency.

I’m looking forward to crumbling these over some vanilla ice-cream.
That’s if there’s any left!!

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