I made her birthday cake yesterday. Just a plain sponge with cocoa powder to make it chocolatey and I used dark brown sugar instead of white so it feels a bit richer. Covered it with shop bought chocolate fudge icing because I can't make stuff that taste this good without going more effort than I could be bothered with ;) It tasted very good!
So here are the WIP's I've been focussing on this week. The navy jester hat is so close to being finished. I think I've got about 6 rows to go before I can do the crochet cast off to create the points.
My Coast to Coast fingerless mitts have grown since last week. I'm really enjoying the pattern. It's only charted which I prefer for cables I think. I had to carefully drop some stitches and rework them with a cable hook after discovering I'd crossed a cable the wrong way several rows back. It was either that or frog back as I couldn't have left it now I knew it was wrong lol
My Bandwagon socks have also grown since last week. I'm loving how the yarn looks with the pattern. They're fun to knit and look more complicated than they actually are which is always good. Now the weather has cooled down after a mild December I'm enjoying having cosy handknit socks to wear.
I seem to have joined in with a friend's New Year's Resolution and we're doing the Couch to 5k programme with her neighbour who is a fitness trainer person. We had our first session this morning. It went rather well I think, I was expecting it to be much worse. We alternated jogging for 30 seconds and walking for 2 minutes. As the weeks go on we'll spend more time jogging. Have any of you guys done this sort of thing before? I was never really in to running at school but I think having someone teaching me who knows what they're doing will help, as does having a friend to run with.
At some point I will google how far 5k actually is in miles ;-) At the moment I'm happy remaining ignorant!
Linking up with Keep Calm Craft On and Yarn Along
I am loving your socks - the colours are super!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing how the pattern grows in that colourway :)
Those would be a great addition to my Sock-Along 2016 list.....hmm maybe I will swap out another pattern for this one, that may be a plan :)
x
Thank you :) It's a lovely pattern to knit, very effective
DeleteYour sock yarn inspired me to dig through my stash to find something that had bright colors mixed with black. I had to settle on stripes. I have done the Couch to 5K but had to stop because it was hurting my back. I did a 5K as well but walked for most of it. It wasn't bad at all. I'm hoping to do another one if I can lose some weight so that jogging isn't so painful.
ReplyDeleteStripes sounds good :)
DeleteShame you had to stop your running. 5k under race conditions is still impressive. I've walked that distance before but it was a relaxed pace, not trying to jog!
That cake looks so tasty! I love the colours you choose, and the definition of the yarn seems so perfect - especially in the cabling. I'm always a little scared of using variegated yarns with cables, but maybe I need to just be a little braver! Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteIt's not actually cabling but lace work. I figured the pattern was simple enough that it should work well with the cables but not distract too much. I'm pleased with how it's turned out. It's only knitting, if it doesn't work then you can just rip back and try something else :)
DeleteYour makes are looking good as is that cake. Good luck with your couch to 5K it sounds interesting x
ReplyDeleteThank you :) It's a good challenge for me, I've never been a runner but I'm hoping that having someone who knows what they're doing to motivate me will make the difference
DeleteI think 5K is about 3.1 miles. Good luck with your training :)
ReplyDeleteColletta
*fingers in ears* lalalalala not listening.... ;-)
DeleteThank you :)
I'm an active person but running is my idea of torture. LOL. Luckily, I've found other forms of exercise that I enjoy such as yoga and Zumba - two totally different things! I guess I just like to mix it up. Good for you to commit to the Couch to 5K program! I know a lot of people who have had success with it.
ReplyDeleteI feel similarly about running. Having said that I'd rather learn to run than do Zumba! Co-ordination is not my strong point lol, I'd probably trip up and do myself an injury.
DeleteI think I just want to see if I _can_ do it. Shall have to see how that goes lol
Fabulous birthday cake! I hope that you do well with the couch to 5k, I am working on the walking right now, but perhaps one day I will do this, so I will be interested to see what you think and how you get on. Enjoy it! xx
ReplyDeleteThank you :) I've heard lots of good things about it so would recommend you check it out at some point when you feel you're ready. No reason why you can't do things at a slower pace and keep repeating the first weeks until you feel ready to move up
DeleteCollettakay got it right on the mile amount. That's my goal 3x a week. How did you keep time? I've seen these training programs all over Pinterest but I was like what a hassle to have to keep time. So I just jogged and got faster as my body got used to it all. Good for you on taking on this challenge. Solid progress on these WIPs.
ReplyDeleteThe trainer we went with used a stopwatch app on his phone. Wow at running that amount 3 times a week, I think it will take me a while to get to that level!
DeleteOh and you will see results after the first month. Try to do some weights at least 2x a week. That helps body transformation too if you're interested.
ReplyDeletethe trainer said the same thing about a month. I don't have any weights or anyway to get to a gym. What kind of weight exercises were you thinking of? Wondering if I could do them at home
DeleteOoh! I need a piece of that cake!! I don't run, barely jog, so not for me. Glad I have a stationary bike to ride, but don't ride it enough. Love the cabled mitts!!
ReplyDeleteI don't know what is more yummy in my eyes.
ReplyDeleteThe cake or your sock's yarn?
Your new year's resolution sounds amazing!
I would love to remotely join you but my knees are too wick for running.
Please keep us updated on how it works for you!
That is definitely the way to start jogging. I ran for years until my feet started hurting (not because of running -- I'm not trying to discourage you at all!).
ReplyDeleteThe socks are really cute, but the mitt is what caught my interest. I've been itching to try a complex cable on a small project, and I think I've found the perfect pattern, thanks to you!
ahhhhh running. Don't forget to have fun though! :-)
ReplyDeleteYour sock is going to be fabulous and the mitts are gorgeous. Good luck with the training.
ReplyDeleteLots of lovely projects, still loving those colourful socks :D
ReplyDeleteWell done in taking part of the couch to 5K, jogging and walking combination sounds good! You can do it :D
That cake looks so delicious! As does the yarn, but in a different way ;)
ReplyDeleteThose are great WIP's, I love the socks very much! That cake looks delicious, I could go for a chocolate fix myself. I'm going to start the couch to 5k this week, hopefully running a 5k with my girls in the spring. Fun stuff (I hope, I seriously am NOT an exercise person).
ReplyDeleteyour knitting always brings me a smile and cheer, such delightful colors!
ReplyDelete