That time of the year again...

Apologies. I really am trying to keep the blog updated more, honestly. It's just that things get so hectic around the beer festival this time of year, even more so when a career change is on the cards and Pokemon Go has been released (Team Instinct, in case you were wondering!)

But enough of that. How are things progressing? The short answer is slowly. I've really been struggling for both time and motivation lately. My Fusion in Paris knitted top was coming along well - I've finished the body and all I need to do now is to pick up some stitches around the armholes and knit two short sleeves. Sadly, like lots of my projects, I'm struggling to find the will power to sit down and pick up those stitches. Hopefully I'll manage to get round to it a bit later this month. Then all that needs doing is weaving in the ends - something so small and easy to do that I hate doing.

I have managed to work on the Epic Pokemon Gen 1, and here are some picture updates:

That's all for now - I have a funny feeling that updates will be few and far between while I get used to a few changes. Hopefully the next update will either be the completed 3rd page from the Epic Pokemon stitch, or the completed Fusion in Paris!

Any progress is good progress, right?

Good news! The Fusion in Paris top is going well. I've done the body (there was a slight mishap with the shaping on one side but I don't think it'll be too noticeable) and have just started the bottom ribbing. Hopefully I'll be able to get a picture of it for the next post - I didn't take one last time I tried it on. Just the bottom ribbing and sleeves to do, then weaving in all of the ends. Luckily there's not too many ends!

I did get a little bit bored of knitting, so picked up the Epic Pokemon Gen 1 cross stitch. I keep meaning to get more done on it, but it's so bulky that I only want to do it when I know I have a few hours at a time that I can dedicate to it and that doesn't happen very often. Still, progress is progress, and I managed to get some more of it done. Here's a pic of before I started:

And here it is after I finished for the night:

I know it doesn't look like much, but it's an evening's work. There's a few large blocks of single colours coming up soon so once I get cracking on those it'll look like lots of progress is being made. It's always tricky to see progress when you're just filling in the odd gap here and there! I've got quite a lot going on at the moment so I'm not sure when I'll next pick it up. The beauty of the Fusion in Paris top is that it was a very simple knit and I could pick it up and do a few rows, or even a few stitches here and there when I had a bit of spare time.


More pics and updates soon - hopefully with a finished top! 

Fusion in Paris - the beginning

After my mad finishing skills this year I decided it was time to start something new. (side note - I've atted the border around Snape, but I still don't have a good photo. Soon I'll post something, honest!) I'd bought a bag of Wendy Fusion wool from a shop that was closing down a while ago and spent ages browsing Ravelry trying to find the perfect pattern. Something that looked exciting but not too tricky. I narrowed it down to a couple of choices and in the end I went for $5 in Paris as lots of people said it was a great pattern to follow for a first sweater. It's a top down raglan sweater, which means you can try it on as you go - sounded like a good plan to reduce errors.

I jumped in. Measured myself and started making the larger size. Had just come to the end of the ribbing when I tried it on.... and it was far too large. I undid all of the knitting and started again, on a smaller size. I read through lots of comments and it seemed that having a large neck (well, the cardigan having a large neck anyway) was a common problem, and elastic was a good solution. I've since been out and bougth some elastic, just in case.

After dropping a stitch relatively early on (about halfway through the top ribbing) and being unable to work out where, I restarted. 3rd time's the charm, right?

It seems to be. I really hope I don't have to restart it again as I'm much further along now. I'm really happy with how it's turning out, and I knew that a sweater would be quite a big project but this is coming along a little bit quicker than I thought it would. Yay for bulky wool!

A red top underneath is perhaps not the best thing to wear when the wool is red/orange, but it was what I was wearing at the time. Hopefully I'll have another update soon!

GAL blanket - 2014

I've finally finished my 2014 GAL blanket!

I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but the Geek-A-Long is organised by Lattes and Llamas, who are using it to spread awareness of a fantastic charity called Child's Play. All the details are over on their website, along with the squares they've released for the GAL - from 2014 to present. There's also a widget so you can donate to the charity if you're interested.

As the name suggests, I started this back in 2014, and finished it last night. I'd had the squares finished ages ago, and they were just sat on the side, waiting to be joined together into one awesome blanket. It was my first attempt at double knitting and also my first applied i-cord edging to finish off the blanket. I am incredibly happy with how it's turned out - being double knit it's lovely and warm, and reversible! It is perhaps a little bit small for a full blanket but would make a great baby blanket. I picked the fandoms that my partner and I love (and that didn't look too difficult!) so it's quite a personal blanket for the pair of us.

The first year they did this, 2014, the theme was geeky, trying to encompass all types of geeky fandoms. Last year, 2015 focused on scientists. This year is video games - I've already found about 6 squares that I want to make, but am desperatly trying to finish off some more things before I think about starting another blanket! I'd definitely have to make it bigger next time, probably 24 squares. It may happen in the future though...

Still need to edge His Hotness aka Snape, but I did get that out last night and wove in the loose ends. Now I just need to summon the courage to sit down and pick up lots of stitches - something I'm not fond of doing! I also realised that M'aiq the Liar cross stitch is still not quite complete, and that I have another unfinished cross stitch lying about somewhere... There's also the Doctor Who quilt top that I need to attach to a back. No rest for the wicked I guess!

Finished projects everywhere...

Almost the end of March, and I have TWO finished projects!

First up is the commission for a friend. I think they know someone that likes coffee...

They've said that they'll sort out getting it framed and everything, so all I need to do is give it a quick wash and iron before giving it to them. They've seen the pic and loved it, hopefully the recipient will as well!

I've also managed to finish off the little barn owl stitch - here he is with the completed cross stitches and a tiny bit of back stitching

And here he is after the rest of the back stitching! I forgot to put the two french knots in for eyes, but I really like how he looks without them so I don't think I'll bother adding them.

Really happy with how he's turned out, it was a lovely little kit.


So that's 4 completed projects so far this year. Not bad for the end of March! I've also started putting together the blanket squares and am happy with the progress that I'm making with that. Hopefully there'll be another finished project to show off soon...

WIP - Barn Owl

I really have no idea where the months keep going... it feels I was only posting a week ago, but upon checking, it was almost a whole month ago.

Good news - the commission piece is almost finished. All of the writing is done, all I need to do now is add a mug of coffee to the bottom. Once it's done and with the owner I'll post a photo.

Bad news - I found another WIP. I started a barn owl cross stitch kit on the way to London back in October, but I miscounted, got annoyed and had to undo it all. Then apparently I restarted it, although I can't remember doing so! I took this to my new stitching group this week, and got quite a bit done, here's how it's looking so far!

The annoying thing about this project is that the colours are quite light, as is the aida. But I'm happy with the progress I've made this month. I'm not looking forward to backstitching all of the details at the end, but hopefully it won't take too long. I might even have it finished next time I update!

All of the other WIPs are still WIPs... I'm hoping to have a bit of time to sit down over the Easter weekend to sit down and work on some of them. But first I really should finish that commission. Coffee cup, wash, iron and possibly frame. The end is in sight!

How is it nearly the end of February already?!

Yikes, time does seem to be going quickly these days. I can't believe it's nearly the end of February already. I know it's a short month, but this seems crazy! But I do have good news...

It's the second month of the year, and I have a second completed project. For me, that's fantastic. True, both finished object of the year so far have been simple, but the main thing is that I've finished them. I was really tempted to put the blanket to one side and "forget" about weaving in all of the ends, but I plodded on and got it done.

But what about the second finished project of 2016? That nearly got put to one side because I couldn't be bothered to sew on the pom pom. But I forced myself to get it done and am really glad that I did.

Pre-pom pom

Post-pom pom

Finished!

 

The hat was a kit containing wool for the body of the hat and a pom pom for the top, and was given to me by a friend last Christmas. It had been languishing in the wool stash and seemed like an easy make so I thought I'd make it while it's still a bit chilly! I started knitting on straight 5.5mm needles as per the pattern, but soon realised that it was going to be an absolute nightmare to sew up. I then switched to circular needles (which made the stocking stitch section incredibly simple!) and misread the pattern slightly - you're supposed to start on 5.5mm needles, then switch to 6.5mm needles after finishing the ribbing.... I started on the 6.5mm needles straight away, so the ribbing is pretty loose. It's still comfortable and hasn't fallen off yet, so luckily it's not a major problem. Getting it off the circular needles was probably trickier than it needed to be, but I got there in the end, got the 2 ends sewn in and added the pom pom at the knitting group. I love how this has turned out, the colour is awesome and it's very cosy.

So, what next? I've started on a commission piece, and even did a tiny bit of work on the Epic Pokemon cross stitch. Wool has been purchased for the GAL blanket edging, and the Snape edging, and I'm eyeing up a cool cabled wrap (I've not tried cabling before, so that could be fun/awful). I've also got a cool bead kit thing that a friend bought me so I may even try that next. I have a feeling that I won't be able to keep up the one finished project a month for long, but if I pick and choose projects wisely, it might continue a little bit longer!

First finished project of 2016

What's that? A finished project?! But it's only January!!!

Here it is!

Close up of the blanket

Folded blanket

That's right, one project has been finished! I did the last of the crocheting last week, and this week I've spent what seems like forever sewing in all of the ends. I almost put it aside and started working on something else, but managed to resist temptation and completed it properly for once.

If you'd like your own diagonally striped crochet blanket, here's a nice link to the instructions, which are pretty easy to follow, especially if you have some crochet knowledge. If you don't have any crochet knowledge but want to tackle this project anyway, then I say go for it! Have a quick practice making a small square to get the hang of it, then get on and do it. I'm not a great crocheter, but really enjoyed making this blanket as it didn't require too much concentration once you'd got the steps in your head. It's a great winter make as it's lovely and cosy on your knees as it grows. It was also a great stash buster - Although I did end up buying another 3 balls of wool so that I could keep my pattern going (3 bands of four blocks wide, then 1 band of two blocks, then 3 bands of four blocks etc)

So that's one project moved from the "work in progress" pile to the finished pile! YAY!

I was going to move onto one of the other WIPs, but realised I haven't got the materials I need for any of them. Looks like I'll be visiting a yarn shop soon... but this did meant that I ended up starting a new project - a one ball hat, on 2 needles. I regretted it almost as soon as I started, as the wool is slightly awkward to knit with and will be an absolute nightmare to sew up at the end. Ah well, I'm sure that I'll struggle on and get it done, it should be a reasonably quick knit.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year blog readers! I hope your new year started off better than mine - I've been feeling ill since new year's eve which is rubbish! Ah well, hopefully things will improve as the year goes on.

I've set myself some goals this year - most of them to finish off things from previous years. I'm hoping that by writing it down I'll feel more accountable for getting them finished, and hopefully will be able to cross them off my list over the year with my slightly more regular posts.



So, here it is. The list of things to be finished in 2016:

GAL 2014 blanket - 12 squares are done, all that needs doing is the joining. Need to decide what colour I want the joins to be first though. Initially I thought black, but I'm now considering a different colour that isn't in any of the squares, which does limit choice! Perhaps a baby blue, or a purple...

Snape Illusion shawl - This needs a border adding. It should be simple, but I know it will be boring which is why I keep putting it off. I just need to sit down, pick up the stitched and knit, get it over and done with.

Doctor Who Quilt - The top is done, it just needs to be turned into a quilt! Now that I have my fancy new machine I'm hoping that I'll be willing to take the plunge with this one. It's taken a long time to get this far, so I'm really nervous about ruining it, and may have to try some test quilting on something simple first.

Stash Buster Crochet Blanket - This started out as a stash buster, and did it's job pretty well. I've had to go out and buy more wool so that I can complete it! I started it between Christmas and New Year and hit the halfway point a couple of days ago. It's lovely and almost mindless, which has been great while I've been ill.



It may not seem like much, but several of these projects have been lying around for far too long. There is of course the Epic Gen 1 Pokemon cross stitch that's still being (slowly) worked on, but there is absolutely no chance of me finishing that this year so I left it off the list. I also have some wool that's been hanging around for a while with a couple of patterns, so I can see a project starting there soon. Plus I want to do more with the fancy sewing machine! There just aren't enough hours in the day sometimes.

Time flies

Time flies when you're having fun... or have a lot on. Time certainly seems to have gone quickly here over the last few months. I've been busy making things for the Sprite Stitch Swaps (one of which hasn't been received yet by the recipient so I can't post pictures) and life in general.

But what did I make? This year I did both the mega swap and the mini swap. Here's the stuff I made for the mega swap:

There was a Yoshi magnet, a shall with Pokemon charms, a knitting needle case, a towel with a quote from the Dresden Files, some wrist warmers and a beaded Triforce bag. Working with all of those yellow beads was an absolute nightmare! Especially if you spill them everywhere like I somehow managed to do...

As I mentioned earlier, my mini swap gift hasn't arrived with the recipient yet - can't wait to show photos of it though! It was a tough gift to make, but I think it turned out ok in the end.


The good news is that since my last post I've finished the 12 squares for the GAL blanket - now all I need to do is join them together... I've also had a new sewing machine, so expect to see some new sewn items soon! I've also cast on a hot water bottle cover that came in a kit my partner bought me last Christmas. It's starting to get a bit cooler now and it seems to be fairly simple to make. I'm hoping to get it finished over the Christmas break. Speaking of which - I'd better go and finish off all of the little things I need to get done before it's Christmas day!

Hillarys Craft Competition 2015

Remember the blog last year about the Hillarys craft competition? Well, they ran another competition this year and kindly send me some more beautiful fabric to play with!

All the details, including the brief can be found :here

I've had an idea in my mind for a little while now, involving a new cushion cover. I wanted something stripey, but with a variety of stripe sizes rather than just being a plain, consistent stripe if that makes sense. When I saw the Hatti Raspberry fabric in the Hilary's collection I knew that was the fabric I wanted.

Hatti Raspberry - isn't it beautiful?

My plan was to make a new cushion cover, and include an image on it, the the stripes at a 90 degree angle to the stripes on the cushion.But what image to choose? My decision was made when I was driving my sleepy boyfriend to the airport for a business trip. I jokingly asked how upset he'd be if I got a cat to keep me company while he was away, and he said I could go out and get a cat if I wanted. Oh boy, was I tempted! Having refrained from getting a cat and making this while he was away, I decided to go with a cat silhouette. One Google image search later and I was sorted. I used my lovely water dissolving pen to draw out (ahem, trace) my cat silhouette onto my fabric and started cutting into the beautiful fabric.

Playing about with the fabric I realised that the effect wasn't quite what I was after, and decided to back the stripey cat onto an old piece of denim that I had lying about (the denim used to be a pair of jeans that then became a bag). And thus the cat was born!

Meow!

Now all I had to do was make the cushion part. Being a busy person (y'know, exams, beer festival organising, work etc etc) I didn't really want to fight with a zip or buttons. But a cushion without these things should be easy to do, right?

Right!

I took a long rectangle of the fabric (roughly measured using a cushion from the couch to make sure I had enough length a width - just wrap the cushion and ensure there's an overlap) and folded over the two small ends, pinning into place. Stripey fabric makes it easy to fold at the right place as I used the stripes as a guide.

The two ends were then sewn, and laid the rectangle flat, right side up.

I bought in the two ends towards the centre (although if you want the cushion 'hole' to be higher or lower on your cushion then fold the ends as desired) so that the right side of the fabric was on the inside.

Sew together the two open ends.... and you should have something similar to this! (I've opened up the centre a bit to show clearly)

Turn the cushion inside out, so that the right side is on the right side. I used knitting needles to open up the corners - but be careful! I once jabbed the needles so hard into the corners of a different project and ened up going through the fabric. (Yes, I was indeed that silly once upon a time. A time not all that long ago. Ahem).

And voila! The cushion is made. Now, if you wanted to be REALLY clever, you'd have the cushion sizes all planned out, and have already attached your silhouette to your cushion before you sew the ends of it. This would be really sensible, otherwise you have to do what I did - attach the silhouette to the cushion with you hand inside the cushion, taking great care not to sew the middle of the cushion together (which I managed to do).

I played about with the placement of the cat. Front and centre, or in the corner?

Then I got silly, and added an eye to the cat. Doesn't he look a bit like a squirrel holding a nut now?

The eye was too much, and I preferred the cat in the bottom corner. Here's the finished piece, complete with creases, yeah! In my defense, I didn't spend as much time on this as I perhaps should have done - I blame exams and beer festivals. Apparently, they don't organise themselves, and revision must be done. It also doesn't help that I'm in desperate need of a new iron...

The other fabrics Hillarys had are really nice as well - why not check them out on Pinterest, and see the other lovely things people made?

Many thanks to Hillarys for sending me the fabric and letting me play!

Empty promises

Howdy all! I know in my last post I promised lots of pictures... but I'm afraid that's not to be at the moment. I've just changed phones and I'm struggling to get the pictures from the phone memory onto the computer (yes, I'm technically challenged. As soon as that's done, you'll get pictures, I promise!




I'm a bit annoyed I can't get pics onto the blog, as I'd love to share with you my first attempt at lace knitting - a lovely pattern called Take it or leaf it from Ravely. I used my sparkly purple Louisa Harding Orielle yarn, which was incredibly soft and touchable. Mmmm alpaca. I was chuffed with how it came out - and even more impressed when it fit over my head! I had worried that it wouldn't when I started the pattern. And yes, I'm aware that the weather has gotten nicer so I'll probably have to wait a few months before I can start using it. Something that I'm certainly not complaining about!


Since the last post, I've also been shopping for some fabric for the back of my first quilt and have signed up to a dressmaking course which starts soon. Add college work to that, a couple of business trips with work and a beer festival... I think blog posts will be sporadic at best, but will do what I can. I've also completely finished the 2nd page of the Epic Pokémon Gen1 pattern, meaning there's only 28 pages to go, yay!


Plenty to do, and so little time to do it. Hopefully I can get my phone working properly soon and start adding more photos.

All quiet on the blogging front...

Sorry I've been quiet! I've had an exam today and so most free time has been spent revising. I've another exam next month so I suspect I'll be a little bit quiet then as well.


After all my hard work, I've decided that a large chunk of this weekend will be devoted to the Epic Pokémon cross stitch. I'm full of a cold at the moment so don't think I'll be up to much else! Hoping to have pictures up early next week before going revision mad again. I'm also hoping that I'll be able to post a pic from pottery painting that I did last week, just waiting for the finished piece to be re-fired and sent back to me.


More pics next time, promise!

Hello Old Friend...

We had a lot of snow last week, and I decided to spend the weekend at home, all nice and cosy, doing some knitting. Silly me forgot to print out the pattern for my latest blanket square however, so that plan failed. Determined not to start another new knitting project until I have at least one more square done, I turned to M'aiq. Who, is looking rather good! I spent a fair while working on him, but soon got bored of all of the confetti stitches. So, what to do... I decided to resurrect this project - after putting it to one side to work on something else for a bit (2 years ago, ooops!) I wanted to get some more done. Plus I keep getting mithered about when I'm actually going to work on it so it isn't just constantly taking up space...


Here he was at the start of the weekend:

And after!

Ok, so it doesn't look like all that much has been done - it is a huge project! Plus I did quite a bit of filling in small gaps. Really happy with how it's coming along. I've done a tiny bit more since then, but not very much.

And for anyone wondering how the c25k is going... I've done week2 run 1. Trying to fit running in around work (which is crazy at the moment) and college (exams are looming once again, end Feb and end March) and my latest fitness craze (which I may mention next time) is proving tricksy. Ah well, a quiet life would be boring, right?

Longer than planned hiatus...

I had planned to update much earlier than this. Sadly, my computer had other plans. In fact, I've tried a couple of entries, but have had technical issues and they've been lost, I've been annoyed and then given up! So, here we go - trying again!

Knitting:
I've done another blanket square, which brings me up to a total of 7 so far! Pics to come soon.


Over Christmas I managed to start a cardigan for my friends baby, and got in finished in less than 3 weeks. It's one I've made before, but in a different colour, this time in brown and cream, Sirdar Fresco.

It's a lovely bobbly yarn, nice and soft and perfect for a little one. It was a lovely simple knit but the only problem was sewing it up, as the bobbly yarn was a pain!

Baking:
Yep, I've baked lots. The most delicious thing I've made in a long time has to be a salted caramel tart. I found this on Pinterest and the link led to here. I forgot to put the salt on top, but it didn't matter - it all got scoffed. I'm a little bit ashamed to say that most of it was eaten by me and my boyfriend, as it was too tasty to share with anyone! (we did give his mum a tiny piece)

Lovely and gooey, the caramel was delicious. The base was perhaps a bit too thick and overcooked, but held together well. The chocolate ganache on top? Beautiful. Definitely my new go-to dessert to impress folk. The tart isn't too sweet and is a tiny bit more-ish. Not healthy at all, but so so tasty. Did I mention it tasted amazing? I could go on about how beautiful it was all day...


But I won't. I also made some Christmas cupcakes, using some toppers and cases I was given from a Secret Santa (I figured they'd be ok for cakes on New Year's Eve - it was either that or wait a whole year to use them)

And finally...

Health/fitness
I've signed up for a colour run in July this year. It's a 5k run/walk for all abilities while getting covered in eco-friendly paint. It sounds like great fun and we're planning to raise funds for a cancer charity. While it is an open event and not a race, the people I've signed up with and I have agreed that we're going to do our best to run it. So, the couch to 5k training starts once again - hopefully I'll stick to it this time! Wish me luck

Long time no post...

Oooops! It's been a while since my last blog entry, apologies. Life has been... busy. Lots of things going on with work, college has started up again (first exam this term coming up very quick) and so I've not had much time to write. However.... I do have some finished pics to share! :)

First up is 'His Hotness', aka Severus Snape illusion knit. I'm still debating how to finish him and what to do with him. I kind of want to display him, but at the same time I think he's too lovely to hide at home and I want to take him out and about. Suggestions welcome!

From the front...

From the side...

I've also done a fair bit of baking lately... a lovely chilli chocolate tart

A very chocolatey cake with extra chocolate on top

 

And a dinosaur cake, made for a birthday gathering (my boyfriend decorated the dinosaur cakes on top - which were pretty tasty!) "This Land" was my little nod to Firefly - something all of the birthday folk like.

I've also completed another couple of squares for the GAL blanket, which I'll share next time. After my next exam I have a crafty day planned with a friend, so there should be some more pics after that hopefully - I think I'm getting the sewing machine out, just need to decide what to make! (Yes, I'm aware I still have a Doctor Who quilt to put together... but why finish one project when I can start another?!)

Sugar and Crumbs chocolate icing

It's review time! The lovely folk at Sugar and Crumbs Sugar and Crumbs kindly sent me some of their new chocolate flavoured icing sugar range to try out. They've got three new flavours, Black Forest, Chocolate Milkshake and Jaffa Twist. When I offered to help test the product, I stupidly forgot to mention I have an orange allergy. I was hoping they wouldn't send me the Jaffa Twist flavour as I only thought about it after I'd had an email to say they'd posted the samples out. The flavours I received were... Black Forest and Jaffa Twist! The only thing I could think of to do was to invite people around for a baking and tasting session, to get their opinions on the orange flavour.

And so an evening of baking, icing and drinking wine was planned!

Let's start with the packaging - it's very... pink. In fact, it's pretty much all pink, which is great if you like pink, but I've never been a big fan. It's bright and eye catching, but I did have to check the (small) stickers a couple of times to make sure I'd picked up the bag of Black Forest icing rather than the Jaffa Twist. I feel that making the stickers larger or more prominent could be a big help - or colour coding the packaging to match the flavour. While having all of the brand in the bright pink packaging is great for the brand identity, it does mean finding the flavour you want a bit tricky. (To see what I mean check out the Suagr and Crumbs Facebook picture)

The Jaffa Twist icing sugar was made into buttercream and used to ice some carrot cupcakes.

As I didn't test the Jaffa Twist myself, I asked my friends what they thought of it. They all agreed that the orange flavour was quite overpowering, and drowned out the delicate cake.  None of them were too keen on this flavour saying it was too strong - as if a Terry's chocolate orange had been melted and condensed then put onto a cake.

The Black Forest icing went down a little bit better - we used some of it to make buttercream icing for some chocolate almond cupcakes.

I was looking forward to trying this one - I love cherries. It reminded me of a black forest gateaux (which I guess is the idea!) very chocolatey with a lovely hit of cherry which wasn't too strong. The others agreed that the flavouring was much better, and the cakes quickly vanished.

The last thing we created on the night were some teapot and heart biscuits, which we decorated with some Black Forest icing made up with water. Here's an action shot. These were delicious!

So, in summary - we loved the Black Forest, not so keen on the Jaffa Twist. The packaging is great if you like pink.

Don't forget to check out the Sugar and Crumbs website and to look them up on Facebook and Twitter. They have some lovely sounding flavours, and all of their products are naturally flavoured.





If you fancy making your own chocolate almond cupcakes with Black Cherry icing, here's the recipe:

Cupcake:
175g margarine (or butter)
175g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, lightly beaten
55g ground almonds
125g self-raising flour
25g cocoa powder

Cakes are made the standard way - cream together butter and sugar, then add the vanilla and eggs slowly. Fold in flour, cocoa powder and almonds. Bake in the pre-heated oven (180 deg) for about 20-25 minutes. Easy peasy!


Icing:
Some Sugar and Crumbs Black Forest icing
Some Margarine (or butter)
Enough glace cherries for each cupcake
I didn't measure out the icing - I just eyeballed it. There is a good guide to butter icing on the Sugar and Crumbs website and on the back of the packets.

Many thanks for reading, here are some gratuitous pictures of cakes (and cookies) for you!

Another thing we learnt from this - baking nights are a fabulous idea, but try to get the baking and decorating done before the drinking!