Waffle Socks

So, about a week after I finished the first sock, I have also finished the second sock. Yay!

But also, it was all a bit of a pain. Not because of the amazing pattern, but because I am a lazy numpty. Basically, I a) couldn't be bothered to go out and by more yarn. So I used some from my stash which I knew would be b) impossible to get a pair out of since I only had half a skein of and even then I didn't c) decide to do parts of it in another colour, like a normal person would. So when I d) ran out of wool while doing the foot on the second sock, I didn't e) try and figure out which colour would work best for the rest of it. No instead I f) used so random wool that was floating around in my room, which g) looked rubbish, and h) wasn't even the same weight as the other wool. Eventually I frogged that and i) used some left over grey wool which turned out fine:

They are only for me anyway, and I'll just wear them around the house and under boots, so it won't be a problem... just kind of silly... Oh well.

So Much Baking

So it has been a while, cause I am kind of lazy and I have realised that I am doing far too much. This last week has been insane (Homework, Tests, Fundraising, Sport Stuff, DofE admin...)

Anyway, this post it sort of related to the craziness. World Challenge fundraising this weekend involved (for a change, not) a lot of baking. I held another football match out side the football game with Sophia, which involved a lot of creepy drunks, and some funny ones:

One guy came up to us and gave us five pounds. He asked what he could get for that.

Us - Well, everything is a pound, so five of whatever you want

Him- Right so how many things can I get?

Us- Five...

Him- If I gave you five pounds, how much can I get?

Us- Um, five?

Him- You have had too much to drink

Us- Haha, no.

Him- Yes, you are. You keep changing your mind about what I can get.

Us- ...

Finally he picked up five things. Then he turned around and walked straight into a pole.

Anyway. All in all, the game was a huge success, and we did even better than last time!

I am also really proud of the cupcakes I made:

The next day, I had a far less successful bake sale at my brother's rugby club. It was still nice though, and my muffins were fab.

I'll put up the recipe tomorrow, I am really lazy and don't want to get the cookbook now. It is from Nigella's Feast though, and they are banana and butterscotch, but I used chocolate chips instead.

A Lightening Scar

So the final thing for my friend's care package:

It is just a super simple headband I made watching TV, but I think it's quite cute all the same, even if a little useless. It's the second one I have made like it, although the first one didn't have a scar on it.

Right so, I am going to tell you how I made it, even if you don't care, cause other wise this post will be sure short and not at all useful/have a point. Which wouldn't be a change but whatever.

Alright, so I used size five needles, and some red heart wool that claims to be DK but is totally not, and way more like 10/12 ply. I cast on 12 stitches, and just knit it like this:

First row: knit 

Second row: k2, p8, k2

And repeat, so you end up with a garter stitch border and stockinette stitch otherwise. And then I made myself a chart for the scar:

Which is super lamely coloured in, cause Paint was being stupid, and also I was too lazy to do it properly. Oh well.

Now I can't wait to mail this package! (Ugh, why is everything closed on Sunday, my only day off!)

In other news, John Green's new book came out, and I am trying to figure out how long it will take to get here from the US...

Treats and Crackers

This past week I have been being a very good child and actually botherd to try to raise some of the 3645 quid that I have to get for a year and a half's time from now. I think I made sixty pounds this week, which is what I am supposed to be doing but... yeah. That's not happening. Anyway.

Part of what I have been doing is selling baked stuff at school, which means that I have been, well, baking.

The two things I have been making are Rice Krispie Treats, and Chocolate Caramel Crack, or Toffee

Crackers, or something of that variation. My family tends to just eat them and not bother with a  name.

Anyway. They are both basically the easiest thing in this entire universe to make, so if you are ever short of time, I would seriously recommend them. That, and you know, they are super yummy.

The Treats are literally the easiest thing. They have all of three ingredients:

6 Cups of Rice Krispies (I bet you never saw that one coming!)
A bag of Marshmellows, which I know is the least helpful measurement ever. I use about 300g.
40g of butter.

Okay, the method is really difficult. Listen close:

1) Over a low heat melt the butter.
2) Chuck in the marshmellows and melt those too

3) Mix in the Rice Krispies and take it off the heat
4) Chuck the whole gloopy mixture into a lined tray with sides thing that definitely has a better name...

5) Take a large strip of waxed paper and with the waxed bit down, press on the gloppy stuff and it will magically even out.
Okay, done. Couldn't be easier.

(That may not be easy to understand. The recipe is also on the Rice Krispie website...)

And then there are the Chocolate Carmel things. Which I still haven't decided what to call.

These are slightly more difficult, but still take about ten minutes.

Okay, Ingredients:
200g Soft Brown Sugar
225g Unsalted Butter
200-300g of Good Quality Chocolate
Enough Saltine Crackers to cover the base of your tray.

1) Pre-heat the oven to 200 C

2) Cover your tray in crackers

3) Over a low heat, melt the butter and sugar, until it starts to boil. Mix with a wooden spoon while it boils for three minutes. now pour over the crackers.
4) Put the tray in the over for 5-6 minutes.

5) Chuck the chocolate pieces on top, and leave it to melt/cool down a bit. Then spread the chocolate and put the whole thing (once it has cooled down) in the fridge overnight. Then just break it up.

Wasn't that easy :)

(Also, my friend Lucy has also been baking for this, but her stuff is ten times more impressive. You should go check it out)

WIP Wednesday: Blueberry Waffle Sock

So, Work In Progress Wednesday people.

At the moment I am only working on one thing, and it's part of my new years resolutions list (yay for pretending that that may get done :)) I am knitting (rather slowly, cause I can't do them fast yet) some really pretty socks. 

I'm just turning the heel at the moment, a point I had hoped to get past before posting this, cause if you have never knit a sock before it probably just looks like a deformed potato at the moment to you. And I am really proud of it, so I was hoping it would be more sock-like when I came to posting it. But it's Wednesday, alas the only day that starts with W to alliterate with WIP, and even though I know there is nothing from stopping me from doing a WIP Thursday say, I am afraid I am just not indie enough for that. And tomorrow it would probably still look like a deformed potato...

Okay, end of non-interesting rant. The point was, there is a sock that is yet to look like a sock that I promise will one day look like a sock :(

Mixtape Making

Okay, so maybe not mixtapes, cause I don't even know where I would buy a cassette from anymore, or how I would record something to it, or who (except me,) actually has a cassette player.

So, Mix Cd's, but that is less catchy. Mix CD's are what I spent this evening doing.

Inspired by RookieMags post a few months ago, my friend Haley, who lives in Florida and I are sending each other care packages. Which include music (yay!) and other things, like posters and books and stupid little badges and other normal stuff like that.

Anyway. It took me an embarrassingly long time to get the playlist from the computer to the CD's I bought on the way home from school today (so I may have wasted like three CD's in the process...) and cause I was feeling cheap, I didn't buy any CD cases, so I had to make one of those as well.

So I am rather proud of that. The cover says 'Music You May Hate' cause she is super picky about music, and also I put some Taylor Swift in there to annoy her... And then I just cut up an old NME and stuck in on my makeshift CD jacket.

Delirium - Lauren Oliver

So, if you read my post about my new year's resolutions, you would have seen that I wanted to read 50 books this year, which comes out to a little under a book a week. Totally do able. I think? Maybe... 

Anyway, Delirium was book number 2, after The Lovely Bones which I don't really know what to make of. Disturbing, and very well written, but kind of like, ew, why am I reading about this? 

I picked them both up at a charity store on the way back from my local library. I always forget how rubbish that library is, and it's actually really sad. It would be great, it's really near my house, and seems to have lots of books, but somehow I never find anything I want to read in there. It even has a YA section, but that has nothing but really really shudder inducing 'OMG, that boi over there totes fancis me yeah?' kind of books. And I am like, OMGNO. HE DOESN'T. GO GET SOME REAL ISSUES ALREADY.

Back to the point, I had read Lauren Oliver's first novel, Before I Fall last year, and had loved it. It was beautifully written and really interesting.  It was a concept novel that was still written well, with interesting characters and a really good message. 

I was a little weary of Delirium though, as it was described on the back as a 'Margaret Atwood meets Twilight novel' by Grazia. I am not a fan of Twilight. Twilight too makes me shudder (Dude, it is not cute in the slightest that there is an 150 year old vampire watching you sleep, while trying to resist killing you. Okay? Okay.)

Having read the book though, I can see why they linked the books. It's a forbidden love story, but not because the guy is about to murder you. Also, there is none of this, 'Hi, what's your name?' and then about ten minutes later 'I would die for you I love you so much,' which also seems to happen a lot for some unknown reason in stories. 

I also really liked the other main aspect of the book, where Lena begins to question her whole world. The book is set in a dystopian future of the US, where they have found the cure for love, as they have decided it is the cause of all evil. Without love, they are taught, it is possible to be happy. She is a few weeks away from getting cured when she meets Alex, who doesn't believe in the cure. And as she falls in love with him, she too starts seeing things differently.

I thought it was done really well, the whole story, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you are going to read it though, you may want to wait until just before the second book comes out. Cause there is a major cliffhanger at the end, and I don't know how I am going to wait till it comes out...