Last week, I talked you through all of my plans for my current project: a Porcelain Sweater made with the 2025 Bridgerton Advent mini skeins from Castle View Yarns. This week, the knitting begins!

I actually have to confess something: I’m already a couple of weeks into knitting this sweater! By the time I got around to sharing my first WIP Wednesday last week, I had already been sitting on the post for a little while and got myself all in a pickle with the timeline… I figured the best thing to do was just to let you know, continue writing these weekly updates as I go and share them every Wednesday, so you’ll still see my weekly progress, just a couple of weeks after the actual knitting has taken place! Hopefully, after this project, I can bring my WIP Wednesday posts a little closer to real-time, so I feel less fraudulent…

Anyway, let’s roll back a couple of weeks and talk about the first 7 days of knitting my Porcelain Sweater!

Progress

Here’s what I knitted in my first week:

• Top of the back
• Left shoulder
• Right shoulder
• First few rows of the front, with the shoulders joined together

Not too bad, right?! So far there’s been a bit of shaping, a bit of colourwork-ing and a bit of good old fashioned stockinette stitch. Something for everyone!

Mid-Knit Thoughts & Musings

I have been really enjoying knitting this project— it feels like perfect balance of simple and challenging to keep me interested, but not overwhelmed.

From a technical side, so far, I’ve been able to practise the backwards loop cast on and German short rows, as well as my colourwork technique. Everything so far has been knit flat, so the colourwork has been a little bit of a learning curve— I feel like I’ve really nailed down my colourwork technique when knitting, but not quite so much when purling, so I’ve had to adjust to that.

I have found that I need to knit a few extra rows here and there in the cream stockinette sections, just because my row gauge is slightly tighter than the pattern calls for. I’m making a Size L and purchased 12 balls of DROPS Merino Extra Fine as my main colour, but I think there’s a relatively strong chance that I’ll run out (mainly because of those extra rows)… I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that I have enough!

After making my colourwork swatch, I decided to reverse the order of the contrast colours on the sweater, so that the warmer, pink shades are closest to my face. I’m very pale (sometimes bordering on a slightly… ghostly grey, depending on how unwell I’m feeling) but I do have brown eyes, so I think these will be the most flattering shades for me, hence the decision to position them closer to my face. I didn’t think of the placement at all until I made the swatch, at which point I realised I preferred the gradient upside down (as pictured) than right way up!

As a result, for my colourwork sections, I’m working from the Day 24 shade through to Day 1, not from Day 1 to Day 24. I spent a while deciding how best to split up the rows between the colours, and with a little counting and (light maths), I worked out that I could do 2 rows of each shade, plus an extra row of 7 of them, because I have 24 shades and there are 55 rows worked with the contrast colour. I tried to stagger the 3-row bands of colour pretty evenly throughout the jumper, so that the difference wasn’t too noticeable. I think it’s working really well so far!

I opted to recreate the colourwork chart from the pattern on Numbers (Apple’s slightly less heavy-duty answer to Microsoft’s Excel). I did this mainly so that I could use my own colours within the chart, because I realised things might get pretty confusing pretty quickly with so many colour changes. This also allowed me to get an idea of how the patterned band would look, which was very helpful.

I was a little confused by the chart for this band at first, because the middle section of stitches is labelled separately as the ‘repeat’. However, I followed my general policy of knitting-exactly-what-you-see (it has stood me in good stead so far!) and soon realised that, because this section is knit flat, the chart does not need to be (and is not) cyclical in its entirety, so it all made sense in the end.

In this colourwork band, there are four plain rows where you need to either carry the non-working yarn across the back of the work or cut the yarn and reattach it at the end of the row, so that you can work the pattern in the following row. I totally forgot that this would be the case, because I’m so used to knitting colourwork in the round, but it is often a necessary evil when working colourwork flat, like this. I managed to avoid one of these instances, because my contrast colour change fell in exactly the right place (which was unplanned, but absolutely delicious)! Towards the bottom of the band, I did have a scenario where I should have carried the contrast yarn behind the main colour, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to use more of my special, Advent yarns than necessary, so I cut that yarn and reattached it at the end of the row. I was a little reluctant to do that, because I’m already a bit worried about finding places for all of these yarn ends without bulking up the sweater too much, so for the other two instances, where it was the cream shade that needed to be carried, I did, just to reduce the number of ends (though I know this will not help my potentially-running-out-of-yarn problem…).

As it turns out, carrying yarns all the way across a piece of work is not one of my fortes: ironically, because patterns always warn you not to make your floats too tight, I always leave mine too loose! My current way of dealing with this is to knit the whole row, then go back afterwards and adjust the floats to make them the perfect tension, which isn’t the most efficient method, but has been working for me so far.

Also, before I forget, I’ve been very diligent about keeping my yarn dominance the same throughout this project, because I want to make sure everything looks really even. I’m keeping my contrast colour(s) as the dominant yarn, so, whenever I work the colourwork sections, I’m always double-checking that the main colour floats are going over the contrast colour floats (i.e. the contrast colour is sitting closer to the back of the fabric).

Castle View Yarns 2025 Bridgerton Advent: Shades 24-17

For the first band of colourwork, I used shades 24-17 of the 2025 Bridgerton Advent from Castle View Yarns. There’s only one row of Shade 17 at the end of this band, but I’ll be using it again at the start of the second band too, to help the gradient flow through the design. I thought it would be fun to share the yarn shades that I’ve used so far here, along with their names and (my best guesses at) their inspirations from Bridgerton!

24: ‘Souls That Dance’

This golden orange shade is named after a quote from Season 2, said by Kate Sharma during her sister Edwina’s Haldi Ceremony. I’ve always loved the colours in this scene, so I was very excited to see it represented in this Advent!

23: ‘You Occupy My Every Thought’

This coppery-pink shade is named after a quote from Season 3, said by Penelope Featherington during Colin Bridgerton’s dream sequence. The scene takes place at night and is very romantic and misty, with firelight flickering across the stone walls and the actors’ skin, infusing everything with a subtle, pink glow. I think that rosy glow must have inspired this yarn!

22: ‘I Would Not Need Flowers’

This pink shade, flecked through with orange, is named after a quote from Season 1, said by the Duke of Hastings to Daphne Bridgerton. I think this shade really suits its name, but, try as I might, I can’t quite figure out the inspiration behind it! The pink shade does show up, albeit very subtly, in the scene, on the cravat of a passerby and (perhaps?) on the pattern of the Duke’s waistcoat, though I’m most inclined to take it as a reference to blushing, because the Duke was being… a little bit risqué here. Daphne’s hair also has quite a gingery undertone in this scene, so perhaps that’s where the orange flecks come in? Either way, I really love the combination of pink and orange, particularly in flowers, so I really, really love this shade.

21: ‘My Wit & My Wardrobe’

This berry shade is named after a quote from Season 1, said by the iconic Lady Danbury. This colour so perfectly encapsulates the character, who typically wears darker, more dramatic jewel tones— I love it!

20: ‘Scandal’

This blackberry shade has more of a general, thematic name, rather than taking inspiration from a direct quote in the series (scandal is, after all, a recurring element in the show, throughout all of the seasons!). This colourway has a similar intensity to ‘My Wit & My Wardrobe’, but is slightly more cool-toned, marking a shift towards the lighter pinks and lilacs in the gradient.

19: ‘Cressida’s Corsage’

This pink shade is (I believe!) another more general name: throughout all of the seasons of the show, Cressida Cowper’s dedication to the colour pink is unwavering, so this feels like a fitting tribute.

18: ‘Love Match’

This pale pink shade is shot through with hints of orange, blue and lilac. The concept of a ‘love match’ is a recurring theme in the show and I think this shade encapsulates it perfectly: to me, the pink creates a backdrop of love and affection, while the orange flecks infuse it with a little bit of fiery passion, the blue the more painful parts of real, human love and the lilac the peace that comes with finding a true connection. I think this one is particularly clever, even if I’m more drawn to some of the deeper shades.

17. ‘First Spark Of Affection’

We’re shifting into the purples now with this lilac shade. At first, I thought that this shade was inspired by Francesca Bridgerton, because I knew the title was from a quote in the scene in Season 3 where she is being introduced to the Queen’s suitor for her. However, upon further research, I actually think it’s inspired more directly by Violet Bridgerton (the speaker of the quote itself) and the outfit she’s wearing in the scene: a lavender jacket and a dusky, pinky-plum dress. I think this is a lovely tribute, especially given that Season 3 is when Violet finds her own ‘first spark of affection’ since her husband’s passing.

And those are the yarns from the 2025 Bridgerton Advent that I used for the first band of colourwork on my Porcelain Sweater! I worked 2 rows with each shade, except for ‘You Occupy My Every Thought’ and ‘Scandal’, which I worked 3 rows each of, and ‘First Spark of Affection’, which I worked 1 row of (and will continue on with at the start of the next colourwork band, to help the gradient flow).

Final Thoughts

And that is how the first week of making my Porcelain Sweater x Bridgerton Advent project went! I really am loving this process— I feel like I lost my spark a little with knitting, but it’s definitely back now. I think the fact that I’m just following the pattern, so it feels fairly simple, but doing something a little creative with the colours, so it also feels exciting and special, is working really well for me and I’m absolutely loving watching the pattern and the gradient appear as I knit.

If you're interested...

You can purchase the Porcelain Sweater pattern by LE KNIT by Lene Holme Samsøe on Ravelry here.

You can find the Ravelry project page for my Porcelain Sweater here.

You can check out Castle View Yarns here.

Gemma

xxx

Back in May, I set up a Knitting Scrapbook as a way of creating a physical record of some of my more ambitious and creative projects. Today’s post features the first of those projects: a Porcelain Sweater, made using the yarn from the 2025 Bridgerton Advent from Castle View Yarns! I figured this would be a great project to try out this new, weekly update approach because it’s a little more complicated than most of my other makes!

In this post, I’ll take you through my planning process for this sweater and chat a little bit about the yarn I’m using, how I set up the corresponding pages in my Knitting Scrapbook and, of course, the swatching stage!

Castle View Yarns: 2025 Bridgerton Advent

This project was definitely one that started from the yarn— I bought the yarn and chose the pattern for the yarn, not the other way around!

Because this yarn was an Advent collection, it is no longer available (which is a huge shame, because it is so, so beautiful!). However, Castle View Yarns has a large range of other beautiful yarns to choose from, so I’d definitely recommend checking out the shop anyway!

The Backstory

I was so thrilled that I managed to snatch up one of the leftover Merino DK versions of the 2025 Bridgerton Advent from Castle View Yarns last year, after I missed the cut off date for preorders. I had been intending to purchase the 4ply version, but it sold out immediately! Instead, I settled for the DK version and I’m actually really pleased now, because it led to this project.

The first time I heard about the Advent was through an Instagram post that was suggested to me the day after preorders closed (literally! The day after!), which was such bad luck. I was truly heartbroken because I felt like this product was just made for me: I mean, I love Bridgerton, I love yarn and I love Advent calendars! Even more so, I loved the concept colour palette for the collection: this gorgeous, muted rainbow gradient. Unable to admit defeat, I waited (kind of patiently, kind of obsessively) until Castle View Yarns announced when the leftover stock would be on sale, set multiple alarms and started refreshing the webpage from about 5 minutes before the release time. Honestly, I have not taken anything quite this seriously since I got my tickets for the Eras Tour!

At 6pm on the dot, on a dark evening in November, I was there, ready to go and get the yarn that I had been dreaming about ever since May. Unfortunately, I got lost on the webpage (no, seriously, I couldn’t figure out which listing was which and nearly purchased one of the Weekly Advents, which I’m sure was lovely, but wasn’t quite what I wanted!). Eventually, I found the right place, put the 4ply Daily Advent in my basket, went to check out and… it had been sold! Disaster!

In a haze, I went back to the listing and found that there were still a couple of the DK versions available. In that moment, I made a split second decision to go for it, despite having no idea what I’d use it for. I had come this far, though and was not about to be defeated!

My last-minute Advent arrived on the 1st December, which was super fast and meant I could open one yarn package each day, as intended. If you’ve been here for a while, you might remember that I was absolutely plagued by colds and illnesses last December, which was not fun at all, but opening up this Advent every day bought me so much joy— it was so special! I loved seeing all the colours in person, seeing the Bridgerton inspiration in their names and shades and watching the gradient form during the course of the month.

The Yarn

The 2025 Bridgerton Advent that I purchased included 24 x 20g mini skeins of Soft Merino DK (a 100% superwash merino, 225m/100g yarn). The shades form a soft, muted rainbow gradient, beginning and ending in the golden-orange shades. All of the shades had specific inspirations from the Bridgerton Series (up to Season 3, because Season 4 had not yet been released at that point!).

The yarns came individually wrapped and numbered in a velvety grey sack (like, a fancy sack, not a sack sack). A wax-sealed (!) envelope was enclosed, which contained a list of all of the yarn names, day-by-day. Also, there was a little glass bee stitch marker wrapped into the Day 1 package, along with the yarn, which was a fun surprise! My only problem was that, inside of the packages, the yarn itself was not labelled, so I used some card and safety pins to label it myself, in case I got all of the shades mixed up (which, honestly, might still have happened at some point— I wouldn’t be able to tell!).

I paid £145 for the Advent, along with £3.95 in shipping, bringing my total to £148.95. I know that this is a lot of money, though it is actually pretty reasonable for hand-dyed yarn from a one-woman business, I think! Nevertheless, I specifically saved for this product, knowing how much joy it would bring me and considering it a super special, Christmas present to myself.

Deciding What to Make with the Yarn

I spent a long time deciding what to make with this yarn. There are lots of patterns designed for 4ply Advent yarns, but not quite so many for DK Advent yarns. I spent a lot of time scrolling through Ravelry, looking for inspiration, obsessively checking the meterage of each project and just being generally indecisive and unsure.

Time ticked by (which is why I’m only just working with my 2025 Advent yarn now, in August 2026!), until I suddenly stumbled upon the perfect project. It was a pattern that was already in my favourites, that I knew I wanted to make at some point but hadn’t yet contemplated super seriously. It was, of course, the ever-popular Porcelain Sweater by LE KNIT by Lene Holme Samsøe!

Porcelain Sweater

The Porcelain Sweater is an incredibly popular, knitted jumper pattern. It’s typically made with just two colours: a main colour, which forms the bulk of the sweater, and a contrast colour, which is used to work three horizontal bands of colourwork. My idea was to use a classic, cream shade for the main colour, but to use the Advent yarns as the contrast colour, working my way through the gradient as I worked my way down through the colourwork

bands. To help myself visualise this, I sketched (read: I traced, your girl is not an artist) out what I had in mind on my iPad and, in doing so, convinced myself to go for it!

The suggested yarn for the Porcelain Sweater is a fingering weight yarn, held together with a mohair to give a DK-ish weight. I’m not a huge fan of mohair anyway, so I was happy to replace those two yarns with a single strand of DK. The next challenge was finding a cream yarn that was similar to the Advent yarn base that I could use as the main colour, which meant that, ideally, I wanted the yarn to fit the following conditions:

• Superwash
• Merino
• 225m/100g
• Not too pricey (because I’d already spent so much on the Advent itself!)

Eventually, I settled on DROPS Merino Extra Fine. This is a superwash, merino yarn that I have used before and isn’t too expensive (£3.50 per ball). It’s ever so slightly thicker than the Advent yarn (105m/50g, compared to 225m/100g), which isn’t ideal, but it worked out fine when I swatched it. You can feel the difference in the two yarns slightly when you’re knitting, but you can’t tell just by looking at the knitted fabric.

Knitting Scrapbook

Once I’d made all of those big decisions, it was time to get out my Knitting Scrapbook and christen it with its first project! I was so excited for this part— I really wanted the pages to reflect my vision for the finished project and add an extra level of fun and creativity to the whole process!

This project will have 3 x double-page spreads: a Mood Board, a Notes/Progress Tracker and, finally, a spread dedicated to Photos of the final product!

Mood Board

I wanted my mood board to have lots of colour, to reflect all of the colours in the finished jumper! I really leaned into the scrapbooking style and layered up patterned papers, printed photos, stickers and stamped designs to encapsulate everything that had been swirling around in my mind since I dreamed this project up.

I included my mockup of the finished jumper, as well as the original pattern photo from LE KNIT and a still from the show of Violet Bridgerton drinking from a porcelain cup (because it felt very fitting).

I also included images of the yarns I would be using: photos of the Advent yarns that I had taken, as well as images of the DROPS yarn that I found online and the original graphic for the Advent too.

Notes/Progress Tracker

This spread is a little less busy, because its main purpose is to provide a space for me to jot down any important information about the project as I knit it up.

On the left-hand page, I have labelled the space ‘Notes’: this will be where I can write down any significant changes I’ve made, or any otherwise important information that I need to remember (needle size, yarn amounts etc.).

On the right-hand page, there’s a space for keeping track of my progress. This isn’t as useful as the notes section but, seeing as this scrapbook is supposed to be part-useful journal, part-memento, I think it will be a nice page to come back to in the future and see how long the project took me and what order I did everything in.

Gauge Swatching

The Porcelain Jumper is knit both flat and in the round at different points throughout the process. In both sections, some of the work is plain, using only one colour, and some of the work is worked with two strands of yarn to form the colourwork. Because of this, it was hard to know which way to work the gauge swatch: I usually swatch in the round, because the majority of a jumper is usually knitted that way, but it is one of my absolute least favourite things to do.

In the end, I began the swatching journey with a flat swatch of just the DROPS yarn on 4.0mm needles. I then worked a swatch in the round using the same yarn and needles, so that I could compare my tensions. My tension in the round was a little looser, so I tried making the flat swatch again using a 4.5mm needle. I blocked my swatches, checked my tensions and decided that the yarn would work for the pattern and the suggested 4mm needle was best, both flat and in the round (either the flat swatch loosened out a little or the round swatch tightened up— who knows, but they were pretty similar in the end!).

The next stage was to swatch the colourwork. I decided to swatch the colourwork flat, because I knew it was going to be a complicated enough process without introducing the whole working-in-the-fake-round thing. I opted to knit a single row of each of the 24 colours of yarn in the swatch so that, when I blocked it, I could see whether any of the colours would run, which was one of my biggest concerns with this project. The charts in the pattern each contain 17-19 rows of colourwork, so I had to extend one of them a little to fit all 24 colours in (which was no matter— it’s just a swatch after all!).

Amazingly, none of the colours ran, despite the fact that there are some quite deep-toned reds and purples, along with some quite strong greens. I was thrilled! I was also absolutely in love with the swatch: just like my mockup of the finished Porcelain Sweater, the colourwork swatch definitely gave me that “I’m on the right track!” feeling.

Final Thoughts

And with that, I was ready to begin! I planned this Porcelain Sweater x Bridgerton Advent pretty thoroughly, because I knew it was a little out of the ordinary for me. At the end of the day though, I did just want to get going so, once the DROPS yarn arrived, I got started! I haven’t made a whole lot of sweaters, so I was slightly daunted, but I was also so excited to see how the project worked up.

As I mentioned, I’m going to be trying something a little new with this project by posting weekly updates. I’ll be showing you how far I’ve got, chatting about any changes/choices I’ve made and sharing my mid-knit thoughts with you as we go. I hope I’ll see you back here next week, for another WIP Wednesday!

If you're interested...

You can purchase the Porcelain Sweater pattern by LE KNIT by Lene Holme Samsøe on Ravelry here.

You can find the Ravelry project page for my Porcelain Sweater here.

Gemma

xxx

It’s been a while since my latest instalment of this series (since my last post of any sort, truthfully!). It’s the age-old story: life got slightly busier, I got significantly more tired as a result, which made life feel even busier, which made me even more tired and, alas, I’ve been going round in that loop for most of 2026! I’ve really missed sharing all of my crafty endeavours with you though, so I’ve been working hard to come back to this space and here I am! I have some super exciting projects that I’ve been working on that I cannot wait to show you all.

First up, we’re going back into my personal archives with a knitting project that I made a while ago (read: like… nearly 2 years ago), then promptly forgot to share with you: the Mist Sleeves by Helene Beba (Garnogslikt). I’ve been following Garnogslikt on Instagram for a while now and, when I first saw these sleeves, I fell in LOVE with them: they’re not like anything I’ve ever seen before, but they’re just so pretty! I remember waiting so impatiently for the release of the pattern (which was literally in September 2024… that’s how long ago we’re talking!), so it feels very full circle to have them as a wearable garment now.

I decided to make myself a pair of these sleeves to bring to my brother’s wedding (last year…), just in case I got chilly in the evening. Naturally, I never actually wore these at the wedding because, by the time I needed them, I was simply too tired to walk to the car and get them, but it was nice knowing they were there all the same. Since then, I have worn them over camisoles (like in the photos) a good few times and every single time I’ve worn them I’ve received such lovely compliments— it’s really made me love them even more!

The Pattern

This is a really simple design. I won’t lie, both my brother and my dad told me on separate occasions that they were waiting for me to knit the body, so I don’t think they quite understood the ✨vision✨, but I fell in love with the concept immediately, so I just ignored their bewilderment. I made a size 1, which is the smallest size provided (this is a bit unusual for me— I’m typically in the middle-ish size section, so definitely pay close attention to the Size Guide in the pattern if you plan to make these yourself).

The design is worked sideways, so you start at one shoulder, work all the way across the chest and down the opposite sleeve, then come back to the cast on and knit the second sleeve. The pattern switches between being worked flat (the shoulders/front & back twist sections) and in the round (the sleeves). The ends of the sleeves are finished with an i-cord edge.

I have to say, I absolutely LOVED making this pattern! It was so simple, easy and quick to make, but I think it makes for such a stunning, classic, yet unusual piece. Also, even with such a simple design, there were still some techniques used that were new to me, so I was still learning as I went!

The Yarn

The pattern lists two options for yarn: you can either use a standard mohair yarn, holding 3 strands together, or you can use a chunky mohair yarn with one strand. I originally planned to use 3 strands of mohair together, but I ran into a few problems with that…

Firstly, I struggled to find a mohair that I liked that wasn’t crazy expensive (especially given that I would need so much of it as a result of the whole 3-strands-together business). I was super excited to try out the (relatively new, at the time) Yarnsmiths Kid Mohair Silk, but… I really didn’t like it?! It was very scratchy and the mohair fibres were in these tufty patches along the central thread, which I didn’t love.

The second problem was the look of the knitted fabric: I think because these sleeves are knit at such a loose gauge to keep them nice and drape-y (and, well, misty), I just felt that a lot of the fine mohair options gave quite a messy finish? I tried DROPS Kid Silk too (another slightly more affordable option for a mohair), but again, I just didn’t like how it looked!

My mum had some leftover Filcolana Tilia from another project, so I gave that a go too. I held it doubled to get gauge, and it looked lovely and felt really soft, but the yarn was just too expensive for a project like this, especially when I wasn’t sure if I’d get a huge amount of wear out of it.

In the end, I went back to the drawing board and started looking at chunky mohairs instead. I got a few balls of DROPS Melody to check out the colours, knitted a swatch and decided that was definitely the way to go: knitting with the chunkier yarn is a much more affordable option (and easier, too, because you don’t have to worry about getting all 3 strands of the yarn each time you knit a stitch!). I did use a slightly larger needle size to get gauge though: a 6.5mm instead of a 6.0mm.

Also, the Melody was surprisingly soft, which was a happy bonus! It’s a chunky weight yarn (140m/50g) made up of 71% alpaca, 25% wool and 4% polyamide. I do find that the sleeves shed a little when I’m wearing them, but I think that’s pretty unavoidable with a yarn as fluffy as this. The other downside of this yarn is that it doesn’t have the biggest shade range: it’s great for the neutrals and there are a few brighter colours, but there are very few of the more autumnal shades that I’m typically drawn to. Overall though, I think this yarn was the perfect choice for this particular project!

The Colour

As I said, I bought a few balls of DROPS Melody to check out the colours before I committed myself to one shade. My dress for the wedding was an ever-so-slightly-dusky green colour (see above), so I wanted something that would go with that. I was desperately trying to get away from whites/creams, because I was worried it might be inappropriate for the wedding, but cream really was the only colour that worked (plus, my dress was green as green anyway, so I don’t think anyone would be mistaking me for a bride (especially given that the groom was my brother!)— but I obviously ran it past my now sister-in-law anyway ahead of time)!

The three colours that I tried were: Off White (01), a cream shade; Rosewater (23) a very pale, dusky pink shade; and Marzipan (24), a neutral shade. In the end, I decided to go with Off White: Rosewater was just a bit too much with the green and the Marzipan shade was weirdly grey-toned (as a marzipan/almond paste lover, I must ask: what horrifying kind of marzipan is grey?).

One big plus side to using the Off White shade was that it made the sleeves very neutral, so they can be worn with lots of different colour tops/dresses, which I feel makes me more likely to reach for the sleeves, despite the fact that they’re a slightly unusual garment.

The Knitting Process

Honestly, this was one of the simplest, fastest knits I’ve made (it took me less than two weeks, and I was super busy with other, wedding/cake-related stuff during that time!), but (naturally…) that does not mean that it was a completely hassle-free experience!

Judy’s Magic Cast On

I’d never heard of Judy’s Magic Cast On before making these sleeves, so I did have to watch the video linked in the pattern to get to grips with it. This cast on essentially a ‘two-sided’ cast on, where you can knit off both sides of the cast on from the get-go. It’s often used when making toe-up socks.

I did find this cast-on a bit fiddly and it definitely wouldn’t be my favourite cast on, but I also think it’s very necessary to get the seamless look of the design right, so I don’t think it’s avoidable? Then again, I have since made a project using the Turkish Cast On, which (I think?) gives a very similar effect. I found the Turkish Cast On much easier and more intuitive than Judy’s Magic Cast On, so I wonder if I could use it for this pattern in the future?

A Lesson in Reading the Pattern

In hindsight, the instructions after the cast on very clearly state to start on the right side with a knit row. I think I must still have been swirling in the whole new-cast-on experience, though, because I started on the wrong side, with a purl row, which meant I had to do a little bit of extra thinking and fudging later on to make sure that the sleeves were an equal length.

The Twists

The twisted detail on both the front and the back is the main design feature of these sleeves and I think they make the garment look so pretty and elegant. I was a little worried about the twisting process at first, just because I had never done something like that before, but it was so much more straightforward than I expected! It’s just a case of repositioning the fabric a little, then knitting straight across it. That’s all! It was much less scary than I had anticipated.

Barber Cords Everywhere

I’ve mentioned The Knitting Barber Silicone Cords before here on the blog, so you know about my love for them, but this was definitely a pattern that really benefitted from using them: there’s a lot of leaving live stitches hanging around, so it’s handy to have somewhere to put them where you don’t have to worry about them sliding off!

Sleeve Length

The sleeves in the pattern are designed to be long, ‘hitting the middle of the palm’. I didn’t want mine quite that long, so I decided from the start to make them a little shorter. However, my arms are quite long, so the suggested 50cm length actually worked out pretty perfect for me (also it worked out as exactly 100 rows by my count, which was a very delicious round number that I very much appreciated).

I-cord Edge

An i-cord edge is added to the end of both sleeves, where they hit your wrist (or the middle of the palm, if you’re following the pattern!). It takes a little while (lots of slipping back and forth), but there aren’t that many stitches and it makes a nice, clean edge, so it’s definitely worth it.

The cuffs are actually the only places where the knitted fabric is ‘finished’— all of the other edges (i.e. the neckline, the twists and the opening across the chest/under the arms) are all left ‘unfinished’, with the raw edges of the knitting visible. This isn’t something I’ve come across a lot in patterns, but I think here it really helps to preserve the visual flow and softness of the garment (plus, the yarn’s super fluffy, so you can barely tell!).

New Techniques

Despite the simplicity of the pattern, there were still a few techniques used that were new to me, as well as some opportunities to practise a couple of techniques that I’ve tried before (as always, previously encountered techniques are marked with an *):

• Judy’s Magic Cast-On
• Dividing stitches to make a twist
• I-cord edging*
• Grafting stitches*

Final Thoughts

I’m SO happy with how these sleeves turned out and I really loved the process of making them— after the pretty complex and labour intensive Braidy Loop Sweater that I made before them, this felt like a super relaxing and peaceful knit!

Admittedly, the sleeves are a little unusual as knitted garments go, but I think that’s what makes them so special. Plus, I think they’re actually a really great staple piece: I live in the UK and (despite the insane heatwaves we’ve been having this summer), the temperature is usually pretty mild, so it’s nice to have something you can throw on over all the summer dresses and strappy tops, so that you can wear them for a slightly longer period each year!

I’d definitely make these sleeves again, but I think I’d have to plan the colour carefully so that I could be sure that I had multiple tops/outfits to wear with them. One of the samples made by Helene Beba is made in this gorgeous burgundy colour and is slightly more opaque than the other ones. In the notes, it says that this sample was knitted with one strand of Knitting for Olive Merino in the shade Bordeaux (the same yarn I used for the Braidy Loop Sweater) and two strands of Knitting for Olive Soft Silk Mohair (also in Bordeaux). It would be a pricier project, but the sample is very beautiful… maybe one day?

If you're interested...

You can purchase the Mist Sleeves pattern by Helene Beba (Garnogslikt) on Ravelry here.

You can find the Ravelry project page for my Mist Sleeves here.

Gemma

xxx

However, I’ve been seeing loads of scrapbook-style bullet journal spreads around recently and it got me wanting to make my own. I suddenly thought: maybe I could tie the two things together and make a… Knitting Scrapbook. Imagine, if you will, a scrapbook-style, memory bank of knitting projects, from conception to cast-off. No rules, lots of paper and glue and fun patterns: just pure, creative, knitting-inspired scrapbooking.

Today, I’m setting up the first few pages of my new Knitting Scrapbook and talking you through all of my plans for this new journal!

My Knitting Scrapbook Plans

My rough plan is to allocate approximately 3 double-page spreads to each project (and I’ll probably only use this journal for my bigger, more intricate undertakings).

The first spread will be a mood board for the project: colour palette, design, vibe— that kind of thing. One thing you should know about me is that I love to make moodboards. Truly: give me the briefest spark of an idea and I will spend hours turning it into a moodboard that absolutely nobody asked for. It brings me so much joy, so this feels like a good use of a spread!

The second spread will be a big, empty space (with some decoration, but not too much) for any notes, assorted project-making memories and possibly some figures/statistics? I want to make these spreads messy, but also kind of aesthetic in their messiness!

The third and final spread will be a collage of pictures of the finished project, kind like a retrospective mood board, if you will!

At least, all of that is the aim! I think it’s nice to have a vague structure like this in my head, because it means that I can make the mood board page for the next project before finishing the last (I’ll just count three spreads forward). I want this project to be really relaxed: a no-pressure, messy, creative outlet that ends up as a satisfying album of yarn-y memories and knitting accomplishments. I think that keeping everything as relaxed and easygoing as possible will really help me to maintain this project, rather than thinking of it as just another thing to fill out/keep up with.

The Notebook

For my Knitting Scrapbook, I used an empty journal that I already had: this A5 Dot Grid Journal from Tiefossi. Admittedly, my scrapbook vibes don’t quite match this moody, green, red and gold cover, but maybe some of my projects will tie in with that aesthetic in the future?

Nevertheless, this journal has super high quality, dot grid paper (and the pages are numbered, which is great for this project, because it means I can navigate through it more easily), gilded edges, two ribbon bookmarks, a back pocket, an elastic closure and a pen loop, which is quite literally everything I want in a journal!

Equipment

To make this setup, I used the following equipment:

• Patterned paper (I used this pack from The Works, but I think it’s out of stock now 🙁 … ).
• Brown sticky notes (I used the plain ones from this pack on Amazon, but you could also use regular kraft paper for this).
• Pastel lined paper (I used this pack from Filofax on Amazon).
• Sakura Gelly Roll: 10 Bold, white.
• Tombow ABT Dual Brush Pen: 990 Light Sand.
• Uni Pin Fine Line pen: 0.5, sepia.
• Assorted stickers (these pastel ones were from Søstrene Grene).
• Glue stick.
• Scissors.

The Initial Pages

I’ve kept the initial pages in this journal to an absolute minimum, because I didn’t want loads of different spreads and trackers that I’d need to keep up with, or an endless list of pages I needed to create. I admit, I’m not usually one for restraint (read: I’m almost never one for restraint), but, in the interest of preserving my creativity with this project, I thought it was an important approach to take!

I did, however, want these pages to be really colourful, cheery and, well, scrapbook-y, to set the right tone for the rest of the journal. I had great fun tearing up patterned paper, sticking in pastel stickers and trying desperately to think of lots of different fonts to create these spreads!

Cover Page

For the Cover Page, I went all out with the scrapbooking theme. I made the title (do scrapbooks have titles? They do, right?) by cutting the brown sticky notes into smaller pieces, then writing one letter on each with my white gel pen, trying my best to vary the fonts as much as possible! I was aiming for the whole magazine letters/ransom note vibe, but with a simpler colour palette (and less ransoming) to make sure that the heading really stood out against all the colours of the background. I also added a drop shadow to each piece of kraft paper that sat on the white background, using my Tombow brush pen.

Contents Page

Next up is the Contents Page. Because I wanted this scrapbook to be spontaneous and not follow too much of a strict order or layout, I thought a contents page would be a good thing to include, so that I can navigate between projects later on more easily. Helpfully, this journal has numbered pages, which is perfect for this!

I made the heading and decoration for this page in exactly the same way as the Cover Page, but I added one sheet of pastel lined paper on each page to write down the contents themselves. Not only does this add a little more colour and dimension to the spread, the lines on this Filofax paper are narrower than that of the journal pages’ dot grids, so it gives me a little more room!

Knitting & Crochet Timelines

Finally, we have my Knitting & Crochet Timelines. I went back and forth about including this spread, because I wasn’t sure if it was a necessary addition, but I ultimately decided that it would be nice to look back on and see what I was knitting and crocheting over this period, even if the projects weren’t intricate enough to warrant a full mood board setup in this scrapbook.

The setup for this spread was super similar to the Contents page, with the two pieces of lined paper to give me plenty of room to fill in all of my projects/dates. On the left-hand page, I’ll keep track of what I’m knitting (‘On My Needles’), while on the right-hand page, I’ll keep track of what I’m crocheting (‘On My Hook’).

Final Thoughts

I’m really excited about this new journal— I’ve been taking a little break from my usual bullet journalling and I do miss it, so this feels like a nice, creative outlet that scratches that itch without feeling too pressurised and time-dependent.

I’m also excited to see how my knitting projects develop from initial idea to finished works! I meant it when I said that I love a mood board and this scrapbook is basically just an excuse to mood board my little heart out, while simultaneously planning out and documenting my knits. What could be better?

I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing about this new project! I’m super excited to get going with it.

Gemma

xxx

I opted to make a lilac-infused ice cream as my first foray into the world of baking with lilac. It seemed like a good idea, because I always think that ice cream is a perfect blank canvas for trying new flavours or combinations. Plus, if it doesn’t taste good, you can just pretend it never existed and let it fester in your freezer until the end of time (I’m joking, of course…).

Reader, excellent decisions were made. This lilac ice cream is SO tasty: gently floral, but also sweet and rounded and kind of… cosy and warming? I don’t know why, I don’t know how, but Lilac Ice Cream kind of tastes like a floral rice pudding. Unexpected, yes, but absolutely delicious!

I’m sharing the recipe now, even though lilac season is coming to a swift end where I live, just in case there are any flowers still in bloom near you. Otherwise, you should absolutely save this recipe for next year, when the flowers come out again!

Ingredients

To make this Lilac Ice Cream, you will need:

• Lilac flowers

Lilac season is brief, but so beautiful! Make sure the lilac you’re using has not been sprayed with anything, so that it’s safe to eat. If you’re not lucky enough to have a lilac tree in your garden, you could ask a friend/neighbour, or forage a few sprigs from public land (making sure to do so sparingly and respectfully, of course!).

The lilac I’m using is a darker variety, but that’s absolutely fine— it all tastes the same, so use whatever you can find! The lilac doesn’t naturally impart any colour to the ice cream anyway (though it would have been pretty cool if it did!).

• Milk

Ideally, you should use whole milk to make ice cream, as this will give you the creamiest, richest texture and flavour. However, you can absolutely use skimmed/semi-skimmed milk instead, if you prefer (in fact, I often use skimmed milk for my ice creams, just because that’s what I usually have in the house).

• Double cream

If you’re in the US, use heavy cream.

• Caster sugar

I use golden caster sugar for this recipe, but white caster sugar will also work.

• Egg yolks

You don’t need the egg whites for this recipe, so save them for another recipe (perhaps one of my macaron recipes?). Egg whites freeze really well, so you don’t need to worry about wasting them.

How to Make Lilac Ice Cream

This Lilac Ice Cream takes a little while to make, but it’s mostly hands-off, chilling-in-the-fridge/freezer time! At its heart, this recipe is just a super simple ice cream base, with the dairy products infused with the fresh lilac flowers ahead of time.

Preparing the Lilac Flowers

First up, you need to prepare the lilac! When you first pick the lilac, you’ll see that it grows in heads (or, officially, panicles, which is a crazy name, right?). You’ll need approximately 2-3 heads of lilac for this recipe.

Place the lilac heads into a sieve/colander and rinse under cold water to remove any dirt, bugs or general, unwelcome impurities. Once clean, set them aside to dry off a little bit.

Once the lilac heads are mostly dry, it’s time to pick off the flowers. It’s important at this stage that you just get the little four-petalled flowers (and their little tubular bases), because any green stems/leaves will add bitterness to your ice cream (not the vibe). This process can be a bit time-consuming, but it’s quite satisfying (and very necessary!).

Once you have all of your flowers, place them into a medium bowl, ready for later. Then, you can get on with the infusing process!

Infusing the Cream

Typically, when you’re infusing dairy products, you get the best, most intense flavour by heating the milk/cream right up, until its just below a simmer, before adding your chosen additions and allowing the whole lot to steep for about 30 minutes. However, lilac has a super subtle, fresh flavour that actually benefits from a slower, slightly cooler infusing process, as detailed here.

Start by putting the milk and cream into a saucepan over low heat. Stir frequently while the mixture heats up.

Once the mixture is warm (but not hot), remove the pan from the heat and pour it over the prepared lilac flowers.

Press the flowers down into the cream mixture, then cover the bowl (either with a lid or with clingfilm) and place it into the fridge to infuse overnight. This gives the lilac plenty of time to transfer its fresh, floral flavour to the milk and cream.

Making the Ice Cream Base

The next day, strain the infused cream to remove the lilac flowers, pressing down on them in the sieve to extract as much flavour as possible. At this point, the lilac flowers can be discarded (RIP, but they’ve done such a good job!).

From this point onwards, this recipe is just a standard, run-of-the-mill ice cream recipe! If this is your first time making ice cream, you can find a full tutorial (with photos!) for this process in my Eggnog Ice Cream post!

Remove approximately 125ml of the infused cream and set it aside, then pour the rest into a saucepan with half of the sugar. Set over low heat and stir frequently until the mixture reaches just below a simmer.

While the cream is heating up, prepare the eggs. In a large, heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar. I like to use an electric hand whisk for this to ensure that the mixture gets super light and fluffy (it should reach the ‘ribbon stage’, where the mixture falls off the beaters in ribbons that sit on the surface for a few seconds before settling back into the rest of the mixture).

Add the reserved 125ml of infused cream to the eggs and stir through. This will slacken the mixture and make it easier to incorporate the hot cream without scrambling the eggs.

When the cream is hot, remove the pan from the heat. Pour it into the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream, stirring all the time until it is all combined. This is your custard base.

Now we have to thicken the custard, which ensures that the eggs are fully cooked and makes for a super thick, creamy ice cream. Pass the custard through a heatproof sieve back into the saucepan. This removes any little bits of cooked egg or impurities, so that you end up with a super smooth custard.

Place the saucepan back over low heat and stir frequently until the custard thickens. Once thick, the custard should coat the back of a wooden spoon. This will take about 10 minutes.

Pour the thickened custard into a heatproof jug, then cover the surface directly with a layer of clingfilm to prevent the custard from forming a skin. Allow the custard to cool slightly, then transfer it to the fridge to get nice and cold (at least 3-4 hours, preferably overnight) before churning.

Churning the Ice Cream

For churning ice cream, I use an older version of the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker attachment. However, you can use any ice cream maker for this recipe! Just remember that if your machine has a bowl that needs to be frozen ahead of time, you need to put it into the freezer the day before you plan to churn the ice cream.

Once your machine is ready and your ice cream base is cold, you can get to churning! Get the machine running, then pour in the custard (this helps to prevent too much ice cream from freezing onto the sides of the bowl and damaging your machine). Allow the mixture to churn for 10-30 minutes (or according to your machine’s instructions), until thick and creamy.

Then, transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container and place into the freezer to finish firming up for at least another 3 hours, or preferably overnight, before enjoying.

The ice cream will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months, so you can enjoy your homemade, lilac-infused ice cream all summer long!

Recipe

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Lilac Ice Cream

A homemade ice cream infused with lilac flowers for a delicious, springtime treat!

Course Dessert, Snack

Keyword Ice cream, Lilac

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Chill/Freeze Time 1 day day

Total Time 1 day day 1 hour hour

Servings 1 pint

Equipment

• ice cream maker (I use the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker attachment).

Ingredients

• 1 cup lilac flowers, washed and picked from approx. 2-3 heads of lilac (see Note 1).
• 300 ml milk (see Note 2).
• 300 ml double cream
• 120 g caster sugar, split into 2x60g portions (see Note 3).
• 3 egg yolks

Instructions

• The day before you plan to churn the ice cream, place the bowl of your ice cream maker into the freezer.

Infuse the cream:

• Put the lilac flowers into a medium bowl and set aside.
• Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan and place over low heat. Allow to heat for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until warm (not hot).
• Pour the warm cream mixture over the lilac flowers. Cover the bowl, then place into the fridge to infuse overnight.

Make the ice cream base:

• Strain the cream mixture through a fine sieve to remove the lilac flowers, pressing down on the petals to extract as much flavour as possible. Set aside approx. 125ml of the strained mixture and pour the rest into a saucepan with half of the sugar (60g). Set over low heat and bring to just below a simmer, stirring frequently.
• While the cream mixture is heating up, prepare the eggs. Place the egg yolks and remaining 60g sugar into a heatproof bowl and beat with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy (the 'ribbon stage'). Add the reserved 125ml of infused cream and stir through to slacken the mixture.
• Once the cream/sugar mixture has come to just below a simmer, remove it from the heat and pour it into the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream, stirring all the time.
• Pass the mixture through a fine, heatproof sieve back into the saucepan (this will remove any pieces of egg and ensure the custard is smooth). Place the saucepan back over a low heat and stir frequently until the custard thickens. When it's ready, it should coat the back of a spoon— this should take about 10 minutes.
• Once the custard is thick, remove the pan from the heat and pour the custard into a heatproof jug. Cover the surface of the custard directly with clingfilm to prevent it from forming a skin. Allow the custard to cool slightly, then place it into the fridge to chill for at least 3-4 hours (preferably overnight).

Churn the ice cream base:

• Once the custard is cold, set up your ice cream maker as per your machine's instructions.
• With the machine running, pour the custard into the bowl and churn for 10-30 minutes, until thick and creamy.
• Transfer the churned ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 3 hours (preferably overnight) before serving. The ice cream will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

1. To prepare the lilac flowers, place the heads into a sieve and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Set aside to dry a little, then carefully pick off the individual flowers, making sure to avoid any green stems/leaves, which will make your ice cream bitter. 
2. Ideally, you should use whole milk for this recipe— it will give you the richest, creamiest flavour and texture! However, I have made this ice cream with skimmed milk and it is still delicious, so use whatever you have!
3. I use golden caster sugar, but white caster sugar will also work.

I know that I’m cutting it a little fine (okay…very fine), but I didn’t want to let Easter go by without sharing a little sweet treat to mark the occasion! Luckily, this recipe is super quick and easy, so it makes for a great, last-minute bake.

Today’s recipe is a combination of two of my all-time favourite treats: Easter Nests & Mars Bar Rice Crispy Cakes. These are my… Mars Bar Rice Crispy Nests!

Imagine, if you will, a chocolate cereal nest, filled with Mini Eggs (as it should be), but, instead of straight chocolate, this mixture is made with caramel-y, nougat-y Mars Bars (and the nests are drizzled with extra melted chocolate, because it is Easter, after all). These Mars Bar Rice Crispy Nests are sweet and delicious: a super fun spin on an Easter classic.

Ingredients

To make these Mars Bar Rice Crispy Nests, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Mars Bars

The star of the show! You’ll need 4 x 39.4g bars (which, handily enough, equates to 1 multipack of the bars).

• Butter

I use unsalted butter for this recipe.

• Golden syrup

Golden syrup is melted together with the Mars Bars and butter to make a deliciously sticky, caramel-y mixture that holds the rice crispies together. I’ve given the amount in grams here, because wrangling golden syrup out of a measuring spoon is one of my biggest pet peeves: I won’t be inflicting that on you here— you can weigh the syrup right into the saucepan!

• Rice Crispies

These go by so many names: rice crispies, rice bubbles, rice pops… the list goes on! Basically, if you’ve got puffed rice cereal, you’re good to go. Theoretically, you should be able to make these nests with other types of cereal (shredded wheat and cornflakes are common alternatives for standard chocolate nests), but I’ve only ever tried this particular recipe with rice crispies.

• Mini Eggs

Mini Eggs are a vital part of any Easter Nest (apart from, you know, actual nests). I’ve used three eggs per nest here, but you can do as many or as few as you like.

• Milk chocolate

I like to drizzle the nests with a little chocolate because a) it’s Easter, b) it helps to secure the Mini Eggs in place and c) chocolate goes SO WELL with Mars Bar Rice Crispy Cakes! I’ve used milk chocolate, but feel free to use whatever chocolate you like: for an even sweeter treat, try white chocolate, or, for a slightly more grown-up snack, use dark chocolate.

How to Make Mars Bar Rice Crispy Nests

These nests are SO easy to make! You basically just melt the Mars Bars, butter and golden syrup together, stir through the rice crispies, divide them between some fairy cake cases, add some Mini Eggs and drizzle the whole lot with chocolate. That’s it! They’re perfect for making with kids, because they don’t require any actual baking— just be careful with the warm Mars Bar mixture.

Start by lining a 12-cup fairy cake tin with paper liners and set it aside, ready for later.

Chop the Mars Bars into chunks, then dice the butter.

Put the Mars Bar chunks, diced butter and golden syrup into a medium saucepan and place over low heat.

Stir frequently while everything melts together. Eventually, you’ll end up with a smooth, thick and shiny mixture, like this.

Take the pan off the heat and immediately stir through the rice crispies.

The mixture will be quite stiff, so you’ll need to use a little bit of elbow grease for this! Work quickly, because the mixture will stiffen up even more as it starts to cool.

Still working quickly, use two dessertspoons to divide the rice crispy mixture between the 12 fairy cake cases (about a generously heaped dessertspoon’s worth of mixture per case).

Press 3 (or however many you fancy) Mini Eggs into the centre of each rice crispy heap, pushing them down a little to make sure they’re nicely stuck in and to help create that ‘nest’ shape. If your rice crispy mixture has cooled a bit by this point, the eggs might not stick firmly into it, but that’s okay: we’ll be adding melted chocolate next, which will help to keep them nice and secure!

The final step is to drizzle over some melted chocolate. I like to use a fork for this for ease (I think the tines help to get the drizzle effect!).

Drizzle the chocolate back and forth across each nest, then set them aside at room temperature to firm up for 1-2 hours before serving.

The finished nests can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week. I recommend storing them in their paper cases, because the Mars Bar mixture can make them a little sticky.

Tips & Tricks

This is a super simple recipe to make, but I do have a few tips & tricks, particularly for working with the Mars Bar mixture, that I wanted to share!

• Don’t skip the paper cases

The Mars Bar mixture is significantly stickier than the classic chocolate mixture and won’t firm up as much, so the paper cases are essential for this recipe!

• Be careful not to let the Mars Bar mixture overheat.

Mars Bars are chocolate-y, so the mixture will seize up and split if it’s overheated. Stick to a low heat, stir frequently and make sure to chop up both the Mars Bars and butter beforehand to ensure they melt evenly.

• Use a flat-edged, wooden spoon to mix the rice crispies into the Mars Bar mixture.

Once the Mars Bar mixture starts cooling down, it will become increasingly stiff and hard to work with. Because of this, you need to use a strong utensil to stir through the rice crispies (along with some good old fashioned elbow grease!). I like to use a wooden spoon with a flat edge, because it means I can really scrape down to the bottom of the pan and ensure everything is mixed perfectly.

• Work quickly

Because the Mars Bar mixture gets harder to work with as it cools, you need to start working quickly as soon as you take it off the heat. That includes when you’re mixing in the cereal, dividing it between the fairy cake cases and adding the Mini Eggs. One of the reasons this recipe is so good to make with children is that it means you have a second pair of hands— you can be dividing up the mixture while they press in the eggs!

Recipe

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Mars Bar Rice Crispy Nests

A fun twist on the classic chocolate rice crispy nests for Easter, these easy treats are made with a melted Mars Bar mixture and feature a melted chocolate drizzle.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine British

Keyword Chocolate, Easter, Mars Bars, Nests, no-bake, Rice crispies

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Set Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12 nests

Equipment

• 1 x 12-hole fairy cake tin, lined with paper cases.

Ingredients

• 4 x 39.4g Mars Bars, chopped.
• 40 g unsalted butter, diced.
• 25 g golden syrup
• 75 g rice crispies
• 36 Mini Eggs (approx. 120g).
• 40 g milk chocolate, melted.

Instructions

• Place the chopped Mars Bars, diced butter and golden syrup into a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir frequently until the butter and Mars Bars have melted completely and you have a smooth mixture.
• Remove the pan from the heat and immediately tip in the rice crispies. Working quickly, stir through the cereal until all of the rice crispies are completely coated in the Mars Bar mixture.
• Divide the mixture between 12 fairy cake cases (approx. 1 generously heaped dessertspoon per case).
• Press 3 Mini Eggs into the centre of each case, pushing them down to help form the rice crispy mixture into a 'nest' shape.
• Drizzle each nest with melted chocolate, then set aside at room temperature to firm up for an hour or two before serving.
• The Mars Bar Rice Crispy Nests can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week. I recommend storing them in their paper cases, because the Mars Bar mixture can be a little sticky.

I’ve already shared one recipe in this series: my Pink & Green Checkerboard Biscuits, inspired by Rosamund and Posy Li, two of the new characters in Season 4. Today’s recipe is inspired by their mother: Araminta Gun, the Evil Stepmother-esque antagonist of the season, played by Katie Leung (whom you might recognise as Cho Chang from the Harry Potter films!).

The Inspiration

Araminta Gun is the archetypal ‘Evil Stepmother’; she’s twice-widowed, always wearing black and positively brimming with nefarious schemes. When it came to creating a sweet treat inspired by her character, I immediately thought of some sort of double-chocolate tart (I mean, with that all-black wardrobe, it was kind of a must!): chocolate pastry and a dark, chocolate filling for a super moody, but still sophisticated and elegant treat. I actually received some tartlet tins (these ones, from Lakeland!), for my birthday last year, so I decided to make mini tarts instead of one big tart (one of the best decisions I could have made, as it turns out— more on that in a sec!). I also love making my Bridgerton-inspired recipes feel like they could fit right in at a fancy afternoon tea, so tartlets seemed like the perfect choice.

I absolutely could have made a simple, dark chocolate ganache tart with a chocolate pastry, but I wanted something a little bit more unusual for this recipe. I toyed with a couple of different ideas, but eventually settled on something that I was really excited about: a Millionaire’s Shortbread-inspired, espresso-flavoured tart. If you aren’t familiar with Millionaire’s Shortbread, it’s a super popular treat here in the UK: it’s typically served in bar form (like a brownie or slice) and features a layer of shortbread, a layer of condensed milk caramel and a layer of chocolate.

Money plays a key role in Araminta’s storyline, so the whole ‘millionaire’ vibe seemed like a perfect fit. She’s by no means a sweet character though and Millionaire’s Shortbread is (perhaps infamously) a very sweet dessert, so I wanted something that, along with the darker, double-chocolate element, would tone that sweetness down and speak more to the bitterness of her character: enter, the espresso. Chocolate and coffee is such a classic pairing (it even has a name: mocha!), so this flavour combination isn’t anything groundbreaking, but the tartlets still feel pretty unusual and exciting (while still being absolutely delicious and very palatable)!

While you would usually use pastry for a tartlet, I’ve opted to use a shortbread base here for a few reasons. Firstly, I wanted to stick as closely as possible to a typical Millionaire’s Shortbread. Secondly, the added sweetness of the shortbread compared to a pastry actually works really well in this recipe, because both the espresso and chocolate are, well, not so sweet. Thirdly (and finally), I actually have a bit of a mental block about pastry: I just haven’t been able to master it yet! This shortbread base is SO much easier to work with than a classic shortcrust pastry: it’s really great!

So, in summation: my Araminta Gun-inspired, Double Chocolate Espresso Millionaire’s Tartlets feature a chocolate shortbread crust, an espresso caramel filling and a shiny, dark chocolate ganache glaze. All of these elements come together to make the slightly more refined, much less sweet cousin of the Millionaire’s Shortbread and, I have to say, they might just be one of my favourite treats yet!

Equipment

As I mentioned, I used these tartlet tins from Lakeland for this recipe. They’re 10cm in diameter, 2cm deep, non-stick and have fluted edges and removable bases.

If you’re able, I really do recommend making this recipe in tartlet form: I’ve tried it in a couple of different formats (bars, bigger tarts etc.) and the ratio of the different layers is just perfect in the mini form! Plus, they slice so beautifully and look so pretty: I might just have to start developing even more tartlet recipes so we can all justify the presence of specialist tartlet tins in our kitchens…

Ingredients

To make these Double Chocolate Espresso Millionaire’s Tartlets, you will need:

• Caster sugar

I use golden caster sugar here, as I do for most of my bakes, because I think it adds a deeper flavour. If you only have white caster sugar though, that will work absolutely fine!

• Butter

I’m using salted butter here, because the salt really enhances the chocolate flavour and helps to temper the sweetness of the caramel. If you only have unsalted butter to hand, that’s absolutely fine— just add a pinch or two of fine sea salt to both the shortbread and the caramel.

• Plain flour

Don’t be tempted to use self-raising flour here, or your shortbread will puff up too much and you won’t be able to fit the fillings into the tartlet cases!

• Cocoa powder

Cocoa powder is what turns regular shortbread into chocolate shortbread. It is quite a drying ingredient though, so the amount of butter in the shortbread is increased slightly to ensure the dough comes together perfectly.

• Condensed milk

Ah, condensed milk: love of my life, bringer of joy. This is a key ingredient in any Millionaire’s Shortbread and this recipe is no different! It is the main ingredient in the caramel layer.

• Dark muscovado sugar

Typically, Millionaire’s Shortbread recipes use a more neutral sugar in the filling (think light brown soft sugar, light muscovado or even golden caster sugar), but I’ve used dark muscovado here to really enhance the bitter espresso flavour in the caramel and bring a little more depth and darkness to the dessert overall.

• Golden syrup

A small amount of golden syrup is also added to the caramel filling. I find that this helps to give the caramel a smoother, more velvet-y texture.

• Instant espresso powder

Instant espresso powder is the key to getting a really intense, espresso flavour without adding to much liquid to the caramel filling (and it’s readily available in most supermarkets). It is different to instant coffee granules: a bit richer and stronger, so do make sure you get the right product!

• Dark chocolate

Use a high-quality dark chocolate here for the best results— the flavour will really shine through in the finished dessert! You can go as dark as you fancy: I’ve used a 54% chocolate, because I really love the taste, but a 70% one would make for an even more sophisticated flavour.

• Double cream

We’ll melt the cream together with the chocolate to make a rich ganache. If you’re in the US, use heavy cream.

• Glucose syrup (optional)

To make sure the final layer of ganache stays really shiny, even after it’s been refrigerated, I like to add a very small amount of glucose syrup. I have this on hand for a bunch of other baking purposes, but it is a bit of a speciality ingredient. You can substitute golden syrup for the same effect, but I do find that it adds a slightly more intense sweetness to the ganache layer, so you might want to consider using a darker chocolate to balance it out!

• Sea salt

You’ll need to add a little salt to both the shortbread and the caramel if you’re using unsalted butter, just to help all of the other ingredients really shine. I also like to sprinkle the finished tarts with a little flaky sea salt: it’s a really simple decoration but it looks very elegant (and tastes delicious!). I’ve used Fleur de Sel on these tarts, which is extra delicious, but regular sea salt would also be great. Just be sure to sprinkle the salt on just before you serve the tarts, as it can dissolve slightly if it’s left in the fridge, which doesn’t look quite so pretty.

How to Make Double Chocolate Espresso Millionaire’s Tartlets

These tartlets look complicated, and there are a few different steps you need to work through, but each step is super straightforward! The shortbread crust is SO much easier to work with than a typical pastry (and it’s made entirely in the food processor!), the caramel layer is incredibly forgiving and the ganache is truly just a melt-everything-together situation. Take it step by step and you’ll be absolutely fine!

Making the Chocolate Shortbread Dough

To make the shortbread dough, put all of the dry ingredients (caster sugar, plain flour, and cocoa powder) into a food processor and pulse to combine them. I’m using a mini food processor here, because I was making a smaller batch, but I’d recommend using a standard-sized food processor for the full batch!

This ensures that the cocoa powder is well incorporated and your dough is evenly chocolatey!

Add the cold, diced butter to the dry ingredients.

Then pulse again until a chocolatey dough forms. That’s it!

A couple of tips at this point:

• Make sure your butter is cold and diced.

The cold butter helps to make the shortbread really short (hence the name!) and flaky. Dicing it beforehand means that it will combine more quickly with the rest of the ingredients.

• Don’t be tempted to add water.

Because the butter is cold, the dough will take a bit of pulsing/processing before it comes together. You might start thinking that it’s too dry to form a dough, but it’s not! You don’t need to add any extra liquid/butter, just keep processing it and the dough will form. Trust me!

Pressing the Shortbread into the Tartlet Tins

Unlike pastry, this shortbread can just be pressed into the tartlet tins. No rolling out, no flouring the work surface: just pressing in the dough with your fingers.

Start by lightly greasing each of the tartlet tins with butter. This will help you get the tarts out of the tins later on!

Bring the dough together with your hands, then divide it into 9 equal portions: 1 per tartlet tin. This way, you’ll know exactly how much dough each tartlet requires and you won’t have to worry about over-filling one and under-filling another.

Use your fingers to press one portion of the shortbread into one of the tartlet tins. Aim for an even layer of shortbread across the base and up the sides of the tin, leaving a small amount of overhang at the top edge. This doesn’t need to be perfect, as we’ll smooth everything out later, once the tarts come out of the oven.

Use a rolling pin to roll over the top of each tartlet tin. This will remove the excess shortbread dough and leave a super neat, flat edge on the tartlet shells.

The final step before the tartlet shells can be baked is to prick them all over with a fork. The shortbread will still puff up a little in the oven, but this allows the steam to escape and helps to minimise the puffing, so don’t skip it!

Once all of your tartlet shells are filled with shortbread and ready to go, collect all of the offcuts and bring them together with your hands. These offcuts can be formed into a few little chocolate biscuits, which can be baked alongside the tartlets as chef’s treats. Don’t be tempted to press the offcuts back into the tartlets— you want that extra space for the fillings!

Baking the Shortbread

Arrange the tartlets (and the extra biscuits!) on a baking tray, then bake them in the middle of the oven at 175°C (conventional, not fan) for 12-15 minutes, until the shortbread is puffed and the surface looks dry. If you’re still waiting for your oven to preheat, I’d recommend putting the tartlets into the fridge to keep them nice and cold until you can bake them.

At this point, the shortbread won’t resemble a tart shell. However, while it’s warm, it will be soft enough to manipulate, so you can use a metal dessertspoon/cup measure to gently press down on the base to flatten it back down and against the sides to sharpen them up and make it resemble a tart shell once more. This sounds fiddly, but it’s actually so quick and easy to do (and I would still take it over rolling out pastry!).

Repeat this for all of your tarts, so that you’re left with perfect little cocoa shortbread tartlet shells, ready to be filled! Set them aside to cool slightly while you make the espresso caramel filling.

Making the Espresso Caramel

I know, I know, the word ‘caramel’ can send even the most confident of bakers into a spiral, but I promise, this one’s easy! No sugar thermometers, no convoluted temperature tests, just everything in a pot and a bit of light stirring.

I like to use a saucepan with a pouring spout for this, because it makes it super easy to pour the hot caramel into the tartlet shells when it’s ready. If you have one, I’d definitely recommend it.

Place the butter, condensed milk, dark muscovado sugar and golden syrup into the saucepan and set it over a low heat.

Stir the mixture every now and then until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.

While this is happening, dissolve the instant espresso powder in a splash of hot water and set it aside, ready for later.

Once the mixture is smooth, turn the heat up slightly to medium-low and bring the mixture to a gentle boil. The mixture has a tendency to stick, so you need to stir more frequently at this stage to stop it from burning.

Allow the mixture to boil for a couple of minutes, until it’s nice and thick. I realise this is a little vague, but don’t stress about it: a minute or two of boiling and stirring and you’ll be absolutely fine!

Remove the pan from the heat and stir through the dissolved instant espresso powder until it is completely incorporated.

Adding the espresso at this stage ensures that the coffee doesn’t burn while the sugar boils, which would make everything a little too bitter (and much less tasty!).

With that, the caramel layer is ready! Pour it into the tartlet shells, filling each tartlet about 3/4 full (this is to leave space for the ganache layer later).

Set the tartlets aside at room temperature to cool completely (about 30 minutes to an hour) before making the ganache layer.

Making the Ganache

The final layer of the tarts is a simple, dark chocolate ganache, with the addition of a not-so-secret ingredient to make it extra shiny and help it slice really nicely when served. This ingredient is glucose syrup (also known as liquid glucose). If you can’t find glucose syrup, you can use golden syrup instead (though this has a slightly more intense, caramel-y sweetness, so I would recommend using a slightly darker chocolate to balance this out if you do).

You can make the ganache in the microwave or on the hob. I tend to use the microwave, because it’s so easy!

Microwave Method

Finely chop the dark chocolate, then put it into a microwaveable jug with the cream and the glucose syrup.

Heat this in the microwave on the lowest heat setting in 30 second bursts, stirring in between each burst, until the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth, shiny ganache.

Hob Method

Finely chop the dark chocolate and place it into a heatproof jug.

Place the cream and glucose syrup into a small saucepan, then set over a medium heat and bring to just below a simmer, stirring frequently to ensure that it does not catch.

Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and leave to sit for a minute.

After a minute, stir the mixture until the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth, shiny ganache.

Whichever method you use, once the ganache is ready, pour it over the caramel layer on each of the tartlets, filling them right up to the top, so that the ganache is level with the top edge of the shortbread crust. Give the tarts a gentle shake from side to side to smooth out the ganache layer and ensure that it completely covers the caramel layer below.

Transfer the tartlets to the fridge and allow them to chill for at least 2 hours (though they can be stored in the fridge like this for 2-3 days: the espresso flavour will get even more intense the longer they chill!) before serving.

Serving Instructions

When you’re ready to serve the tarts, carefully remove them from their tins. I find the best way to do this is to gently pull the sides of the tin away from the shortbread all the way around to loosen it, then set the tin on a small jar/tin and press down gently on the top edge to release it, making sure to apply any pressure as evenly as possible around the circumference of the tin. Then, hold the tartlet upside down and use a small, sharp knife to pry the base of the tin off the bottom of the tartlet.

Just before serving, sprinkle the tartlets with a little flaky sea salt (I used Fleur de Sel, for extra fanciness!). You can either slice the tartlets into tiny slices (SO CUTE!) or you can serve them whole for extra decadence. If you are slicing them, I recommend using a small, sharp knife and wiping it off in between each cut so that you can see the pretty layers.

Don’t be tempted to sprinkle the tartlets with salt ahead of time, while they’re still in the fridge, because I find that the salt starts dissolving and looks a lot less pretty if you do this.

Recipe

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Double Chocolate Espresso Millionaire’s Tartlets

Inspired by the character of Araminta Gun in Bridgerton: Season 4, these tartlets feature a chocolate shortbread crust, an espresso caramel filling and a shiny, dark chocolate ganache layer, all topped off with a sprinkling of sea salt.

Course Dessert

Keyword Caramel, Chocolate, Espresso, Millionaire’s Shortbread

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Chill Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 9 tartlets

Equipment

• 9 x 10cm diameter tartlet tins

Ingredients

For the chocolate shortbread:

• 75 g caster sugar
• 225 g plain flour
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 180 g salted butter, cold and diced, plus extra for greasing (see Note 1).

For the espresso caramel layer:

• 100 g salted butter (see Note 1).
• 1 x 397g can condensed milk
• 100 g dark muscovado sugar
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 1/2 tbsp instant espresso powder, dissolved in a splash of hot water.

For the ganache layer:

• 90 g dark chocolate, finely chopped (see Note 2).
• 180 ml double cream
• 1/2 tsp glucose syrup (see Note 3).

To finish:

• Flaky sea salt (I used Fleur de Sel, but any sea salt would work).

Instructions

Make the chocolate shortbread tartlet shells:

• Preheat the oven to 175°C (conventional oven, not fan). Grease 9 tartlet tins lightly with butter and set aside.
• Place all of the shortbread ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until a dough forms (this will take a bit of time— just keep processing and it will come together! Don't be tempted to add any water.).
• Tip the dough out onto a clean work surface and finish bringing it together with your hands. Divide the dough into 9 equal portions, one for each tartlet tin.
• Press a ball of dough into one of the tartlet tins, aiming to get an even layer of shortbread right across the bottom and up the sides of the tin. Leave a small amount of overhang at the top of the tin, then use a rolling pan to roll over the top of the tin to remove the extra dough and leave a super neat edge. The dough offcuts can be used to make a few little chocolate biscuits that can be baked alongside the tartlets.
• Prick the dough on the base of each tartlet all over with a fork, then bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until the surface looks dry (the shortbread will still puff up quite a bit, but that's okay— we'll fix it in the next step!).
• As soon as the tartlet shells come out of the oven, use a dessertspoon/metal cup measure to gently press the shortbread down on the base and around the sides. The shortbread will still be quite soft when it's warm, so you can easily reshape it to make the perfect little tart shells.
• Leave the tarts to one side to cool slightly while you make the caramel layer.

Make the espresso caramel layer:

• Place the butter, condensed milk, dark muscovado sugar and golden syrup into a saucepan (preferably one with a pouring spout, if you have one). Set over low heat and stir every now and then until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
• Turn the heat up slightly to medium-low and allow the mixture to boil, stirring frequently, for a couple of minutes, until thick.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir through the dissolved instant espresso powder until completely incorporated.
• Pour the hot caramel into the tartlet shells, filling each tartlet about 3/4 full (you need to leave room for the ganache layer). Set the tartlets aside at room temperature to cool completely (about 30 minutes to 1 hour).

Make the ganache layer:

• Once the tartlets are completely cool, make the ganache layer. Place all of the ganache ingredients into a microwaveable jug and heat on the lowest setting in 30 second bursts, stirring in between each burst, until the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth, shiny ganache. If you don't have a microwave, bring the cream and glucose syrup to just below a simmer in a saucepan, then pour over the chopped chocolate, leave to stand for a minute, then stir until smooth.
• Pour the ganache onto the cooled tartlets, filling them right up to the top, so that the ganache sits level with the top of the shortbread crust. Give the tarts a gentle shake from side to side to make sure the ganache layer is smooth and completely covers the caramel layer below.
• Transfer the tarts to the fridge and chill for at least 2 hours before serving. The tarts can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days, so you can make them ahead of time (the espresso flavour will also get more intense as they chill).

To serve:

• Carefully remove the tartlets from their tins. Sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt and serve.

Notes

1. You can use unsalted butter instead: use the same amount but add a pinch or two of fine sea salt.
2. I used a 54% dark chocolate, which isn’t super dark, but works really well with the other flavours. If you want a slightly more bitter, intense flavour, use a darker chocolate (a 70% would work well!).
3. Adding a small amount of glucose syrup to the ganache makes it super shiny and helps it slice really nicely. Glucose syrup is a bit of a specialist ingredient though so, if you don’t have it to hand, you can use golden syrup instead. Golden syrup has a slightly more intense, caramel-y flavour and sweetness, so, if you do this, so you might want to consider using a darker chocolate to balance it out.

My December gnome was another mystery gnome. The Advent mystery gnomes work a little differently, though: instead of pattern updates every few days, you get an update every day (in this case, from 1st-21st December). Not all of the updates are knitting clues, though— there are also festive recipes, miscellaneous patterns and periodical instalments of the festive story behind the gnome, so the knitting itself isn’t too overwhelming.

I wanted to wait to post my Gnandad until the mystery knitalong was finished to avoid any spoilers for people participating in/following along with it. I meant to post this in January but time just got away from me… No matter, we’re here now, excitingly (albeit belatedly) bringing the curtain down on my Year of Gnomes 2025 experience!

So, finally, I can introduce… Gnandad!

Gnandad is a rather impish gnome: when he’s not having a nap in his chair by the hearth, he can often be found in the local store, pottering around the fruit and veg aisle and plotting to ambush his grandchildren at the next family dinner with the most obscure produce he can find. He’s a morning gnome— he wakes up bright-eyed and bushy-stached before the sun has even risen, but, the minute the sun starts to go down in the evening, you’ll catch his eyes (and moustache) beginning to droop.

Choosing December’s Gnome

While you didn’t have to participate in the Gnandad MKAL (mystery knitalong) as part of the Year of Gnomes (you can make any gnome you want!), I thought it would be a nice way to finish off the experience, so I decided to go for it, despite not loving the mystery format in my previous two attempts (I’m a girl who likes to plan ahead, what can I say?). Plus, Gnandad felt like he was going to be very festive, which is an easy way to convince me to give something a go (I, like Mariah Carey, defrost for Christmas), so I was sold!

Updated MKAL Thoughts

This was my third time participating in a Mystery Knitalong (MKAL), so I thought I’d give you my updated thoughts on the general experience of knitting with absolutely no idea where you’re heading.

Overall… I’m still not obsessed with MKAL gnomes. I think I just prefer knowing what I’m getting myself into, so that I can be really intentional about the colours I pick. I also like seeing the gnome as it gradually comes together, which I feel you miss out on a little bit with an MKAL?

I was actually super late to the party this time around: I fully intended to start my gnome on 1st December butttttt…. I ended up starting it on 19th December instead. Because I was so late, I actually spoiled the surprise for myself on purpose and looked at other people’s progress photos. Honestly, I just didn’t feel like I had the energy to enjoy the mystery of it all and trust the process, which I know isn’t really in the MKAL spirit, but it definitely helped me this time around (so, I guess this was really just a KAL for me, then?).

However, I do think MKALs can be fun: it’s kind of exciting to see everyone else’s gnomes evolving in real time and you do feel like you’re part of a gnome-y community!

The Yarn

As with most of my other Year of Gnomes projects, I picked my yarns for Gnandad from my mum’s fingering-weight stash, which mainly comprises of little balls of yarn leftover from making socks. For her sample gnome, Schira used a teal shade for the contrast colour that I really loved, but I couldn’t find anything remotely similar in the stash, so I picked a paler, mint green shade.

Reader, this was a mistake. I started knitting Gnandad‘s hat, then quickly realised that there wasn’t enough contrast between the green and grey shades, which was rendering the colourwork that I was so painstakingly working… absolutely useless. I lived in denial for a few more rows, then realised I needed to go back and start again, so I did, substituting the green with this rich, magenta-y purple. I figured it was a good shade because (most importantly) the contrast was much better, but also because it’s kind of festive, but in a classic, casual, not red-and-green kind of way, if you get what I mean?

I was a little bit worried when I was knitting with the darker grey shade, because it felt a little thinner than the other yarns and I was concerned that the stuffing would show through (which would be especially noticeable, given the contrast between the dark yarn and the white stuffing!). Luckily, this turned out to be a case of worrying over nothing (my modus operandi) because you truly can’t see any stuffing at all through the fabric! A win for Gnandad!

In the end then, I used the following colours for my Gnandad:

• C1: Purple
• C2: Light Grey
• C3: White
• C4: Dark Grey

Thoughts on the Pattern

As mystery gnomes go, I actually thought Gnandad was pretty simple— often, I find that Schira’s mystery gnomes are much more complex and fancy than her other gnomes, but Gnandad was pretty understated. I think the fun of him is in the unusual techniques used to make him, rather than his overall look at the end. Because of this, there were definitely some new techniques for me in this project: a new type of colourwork (which I believe is called mosaic knitting?), Estonian braids and moustache-making!

One thing I did notice about this pattern is that the needle size you need to use changes around quite a bit (particularly when you’re making the hat!), so I would recommend paying extra attention to that throughout.

Things I Loved!

There are so many cute details on Gnandad that I absolutely love!

• Gnandad’s Moustache

It always amazes me how Schira seems to be able to come up with new & innovative designs every time: the moustache took me by surprise (I’m used to lonely beards), but it’s so cute!

• The Estonian Braid Element

This was my first time working an Estonian Braid and (once I’d actually watched the recommended video, so that I knew what I was doing) it was really simple to do. I really enjoyed learning a new technique and I think it’s a really fitting feature on Gnandad: it looks super cute and it helps to balance out the colours nicely.

• Gnandad‘s Suspenders

I wasn’t entirely convinced by the idea of the suspenders at first— not for any particular reason, I just didn’t know how they’d work? But I love them. My favourite thing about them is that I can tuck Gnandad’s little arms into them like he’s about to settle in for a jolly ‘back in my day…’ kind of story. I think they really make him!

• Gnandad‘s Feet

The return to gnome feet! I can’t tell you how excited I was when I realised Gnandad had feet: I love making them (the three-needle bind off is SO satisfying) and I love how cute they make the gnomes look.

• I-cord Toppers

I’ve made (or attempted to make) these i-cord toppers before on Gnectar, back in August, but… they didn’t end up right. Luckily, with Gnandad, I must have conquered my i-cord demons because they turned out perfectly! I’m so much happier with them.

Things I Didn’t Quite Love…

As always though, there are a couple of things that I am not so fond of…

• Gnandad‘s Beard

I have a couple of issues with Gnandad‘s beard: firstly, I’m not super happy with the cast-off edge— I think I made it a little too tight because the beard has a slightly odd curve to it. Secondly, and this is entirely a me-problem, the beard is kind of… weirdly long and it just… well, it reminds me of a giraffe tongue and makes me uncomfortable. I guess not all beards are made equal?

• Gnandad‘s Moustache

I know what you’re thinking: ‘But Gemma! You said you loved his moustache!’. I did! And I do! But I think I could execute the ‘stache better: it’s a little smaller than I think it’s meant to be and pretty… diamond-y? Honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was doing when I read the instructions, so I just snipped and hoped for the best? It looks good, but I think it could look great.

• Mosaic Colourwork

I can see the appeal of this technique and yes, it looks great, but honestly, it wasn’t my favourite to work up. I kept feeling frustrated at having to work double the number of rows (I actually missed stranded colourwork!) and it felt like it took forever because of it. I do like the effect, but the process was endless.

• The Shape of Gnandad‘s Hat

The shape of Gnandad‘s hat feels a little less smooth than some of the other gnomes I’ve made from Schira’s patterns that have similar, conical hats. This could be to do with my tension/stuffing skills (or lack thereof), but it just irks me a little.

Final Thoughts

If I’m being completely honest, I was a little underwhelmed by Gnandad at first. I think a big reason for this is that I had made Gnoel just before and he was my absolute favourite gnome I’ve ever made. Really, poor Gnandad, how was he supposed to top that?

However, over time, I’ve grown quite fond of him! His little moustache and suspenders (and, most importantly, the fact that I can tuck his hands into said suspenders) give him such personality! He’s like a slow-burn gnome: he doesn’t immediately draw the eye but, once you’ve spotted him, there are all these little features to admire.

On the whole, he was a pretty quick knit, except for his hat, which felt like it took forever (this is me, formally picking a fight with mosaic knitting). The new, more complex techniques are used sparingly, so there are large sections of just basic knitting, which helped speed things up too.

And that is Gnandad, my December gnome and the final gnome in my Year of Gnomes 2025. 12 months, 12 gnomes, a plethora of new techniques and a whole host of whimsical fun and cosy knitting. While I’m not necessarily in a rush to embark on another year-long knitting challenge any time soon, I did enjoy participating in this extended knitalong: I loved seeing all of the gnomes everybody made and I love my own little 2025 gnome collection.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series as much as I have! Year of Gnomes 2025: over and out.

If you're interested...

You can find the pattern for Gnandad on Ravelry here.

You can find my Ravelry project page for Gnandad here.

Gemma

xxx

The first recipe in this series is for these Pink & Green Checkerboard Biscuits: my tribute to the Li Sisters, Rosamund and Posy, who made their debuts in Season 4.

The Inspiration

Season 4 of Bridgerton is, at its heart, a Cinderella story. As part of that, it follows the oft-used approach of having one of ‘Cinderella’s’ stepsisters be, well, nicer than the other: in this case, Posy is an absolute sweetheart and Rosamund is… I guess, whatever the opposite of that is.

Do you guys remember that old nursery rhyme that says something about girls being made of “sugar, spice and everything nice”? These two characters really remind me of it: Rosamund feels very spice and Posy feels very sugar. The official Bridgerton Instagram account ALSO referenced sugar and spice with regard to these characters (you can see the post here!), which made me feel extremely validated, so I figured that the whole sugar & spice thing would be a great concept for this recipe.

Last Christmas, I made Swedish Schackrutor for the first time as part of my Baking Around the World series. These tiny shortbread biscuits have a 2×2 checkerboard pattern, made with a combination of vanilla and chocolate dough. I thought these checkerboard biscuits would be a perfect base for this recipe: two sisters, two completely difference personalities and two doughs, all coming together to make one (delicious) biscuit!

When it came to deciding on the flavours, I was partially influenced by the whole sugar-and-spice vibe, but also partly by colour. In much of the promotional media for Season 4, Rosamund and Posy are seen wearing pink and green floral-print dresses: both fabrics feature the same pattern, but the colours are inverted. This fit so well with the checkerboard biscuit idea, I just had to make these biscuits pink and green, which heavily inspired the resulting flavours. I also love that these biscuits feel super Bridgerton: they’re colourful and fun, but they’re also fancy and delicate.

I’m not opposed to using food colouring, but, if I can, I prefer to use more natural alternatives. These biscuits are food-colouring free, tinted pink and green by the freeze-dried strawberry powder and matcha powder, respectively. Strawberry and matcha not only fit the pink-and-green colour palette perfectly, but they’re also a really delicious pairing, as evidenced by the strawberry matcha lattes that went viral over the past year (or two years? Or five years? I’m not even sure…)! I really liked the idea of these biscuits referencing the time period in which Bridgerton: Season 4 was released, as well as being inspired by the Regency setting of the show, so I ran with the flavour combo.

I did, however, want to incorporate a spicy element into the biscuits, so I opted to pair the strawberry flavour with pink peppercorns. I’ve actually heard of people pairing strawberries with black pepper before, so I figured pink peppercorns weren’t too much of a stretch: they’re milder (though they still bring a little bit of warmth to the dough), with a slight citrus-y note, and fit the pink colour palette perfectly, so I figured they’d be a great option here!

Honestly, I’m not usually the biggest fan of matcha (sometimes I just find it a little too earthy?), but I had a matcha panna cotta once that I absolutely loved and I think the difference was the presence of vanilla in the recipe: it really brings out the sweetness of the matcha without overpowering its flavour. Therefore, I opted to include a small amount of vanilla bean paste in the matcha dough, to make it a little more sweet and a little more delicious (for me, at least!).

Ingredients

The basic biscuit dough is a simple shortbread, using the classic 1-2-3 ratio of caster sugar-butter-plain flour (the same base that I used for my Schackrutor recipe). I’ve used unsalted butter here, but you can use salted butter if you prefer.

This recipe doesn’t make a huge batch of biscuits (they’re pretty tiny!), but you can easily scale it up to make more if you want.

To flavour the doughs, I used the following 4 ingredients:

• Freeze dried strawberries

It turns out that freeze dried strawberries aren’t as readily available as freeze dried raspberries in the supermarkets near me (who knew?), so I purchased mine on Amazon. They’re a great way of getting loads of strawberry flavour into bakes, particularly ones like shortbread that can’t handle too much additional liquid.

I bought freeze dried strawberries slices and ground them into a fine powder myself, using a mortar and pestle. If you can find them in powder form, you can absolutely buy them like that instead.

• Pink peppercorns

Surprisingly, pink peppercorns are not related to the classic black peppercorns we know and love (I’m lying, black pepper and I do not see eye to eye). Pink peppercorns are actually a dried berry! However, because they have a pepper-y flavour, they’re often grouped together with the other peppers of the world. Along with their relatively mild, but still warming, pepperiness, they have an almost citrus-y flavour, which works really well with the fruitiness of the strawberries and the earthiness of the matcha powder.

You can of course leave the pink peppercorns out to make these into Strawberry Matcha biscuits. I’d probably still keep the vanilla in if you do this, just to really highlight the matcha flavour.

• Matcha powder

Make sure you get a high quality, pure matcha powder (not one of the flavoured alternatives) for this recipe. It can be quite expensive, but you don’t need much at all for this recipe.

• Vanilla bean paste

I like to use vanilla bean paste in these biscuits because it adds plenty of vanilla flavour without adding as much liquid as regular vanilla extract would (and without the faff of dealing with a vanilla bean). As I mentioned earlier, I find that adding vanilla to matcha desserts really brings out the sweetness of the matcha, so I definitely think it’s a worthwhile addition to this recipe!

How to Make Pink & Green Checkerboard Biscuits

Making the base dough for these checkerboard biscuits is super easy: you just put the ingredients (sugar, butter and flour) into a food processor (I use a mini one) and pulse/process until everything comes together. That’s it!

Things get a little more complex when it comes to flavouring and shaping the biscuits, but it’s still pretty straightforward once you know what you’re doing.

First things first, split the dough into two equal portions. I like to use a weighing scale for this to make sure that both halves of the dough are exactly the same size.

Add the matcha powder and the vanilla bean paste to one half of the dough. To the other half, add the freeze-dried strawberry powder and the ground pink peppercorns.

Working with one dough at a time, knead in the flavourings until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough and the colour is even.

Once you have both doughs ready to go, you need to split both of them up into smaller portions. Again, I like to use a weighing scale for this to ensure the portions are all the same. Start by dividing each ball of dough into 3 equal portions.

Then, divide 2 of each of those 3 portions in half again. You should be left with 1 large ball and 4 small balls of each dough flavour. The smaller balls will form the checkerboard body of the biscuits, while the larger ball will be rolled out and wrapped around the biscuits to form the border.

Use your hands and a bench scraper (or a clean, metal ruler: anything that will help you to really square off the edges of the dough) to shape each of the smaller balls into rectangular logs (you want the cross section of each log to be approximately 1 cm x 1 cm), making sure the logs are as equal as possible in length. You should end up with four green logs and four pink logs.

Carefully press each green log up against one of the pink logs, making sure they are stuck together, but being careful not to squish the dough out of shape too much.

Place one pair of logs on top of another pair of logs, positioning it so the top green section sits on top of the bottom pink section and vice versa. This creates the checkerboard pattern. Again, press them together, but try not to distort the shape too much. Repeat this process for the second pair of logs, so that you have two short cuboids featuring a 2×2 checkerboard pattern.

Now, it’s time to wrap the biscuits in their final dough layer! This gives the biscuits a really pretty border and makes them feel that little bit fancier (if you’d prefer to make the biscuits sans border, follow the instructions on my Swedish Schackrutor post instead— the dividing of the dough is a little less complicated if you do it that way too!).

Take one of the large dough balls and roll it out between two pieces of baking paper (you don’t want to use flour at this stage, because it will prevent the dough from sticking to the biscuit logs, so the baking paper is there to stop it from sticking to your work surface/rolling pin!). Aim for a rectangle the slightly wider than the length of one of your checkerboard logs, and long enough to wrap around the whole thing (approx. 8cm). Try to keep the thickness as even as possible, so that the border looks super neat.

Peel off the top layer of baking paper, then place one of the logs onto the dough, positioning it at one end.

Use a sharp knife to trim along the back of the log, as well as down both sides, flush with the edges of the log. This will make the final dough layer really neat.

Use the baking paper to help you roll the log down the length of the dough, wrapping it up in the dough as you go and pressing the edges gently to ensure the dough sticks to itself, until you’ve covered the whole thing like a little Battenberg. Trim off any excess dough at the end.

Repeat this process for the second log, using the other dough flavour (the final ball!) to cover it. Wrap both of the biscuit logs tightly in clingfilm, then place into the fridge to chill for 2 hours. This will firm the dough up, so that you can slice the logs without distorting your hard-earned checkerboard pattern.

There’s no need to throw away the dough offcuts— roll them all together and form them into a couple of round biscuits (top left in the photo above!). Aim to make these biscuits a similar size to the cross section of your biscuit logs (approx. 3-4cm in diameter). You can bake them alongside the ‘official’ biscuits as little chef’s treats later!

Once the logs have chilled, unwrap them and use a sharp knife to cut them into slices, approx. 5-7mm thick.

Space the biscuits out on a baking tray, lined with baking paper (they won’t spread too much, so just leave a little gap between them). Bake them at 180°C (conventional oven, not fan) for 6-8 minutes, until they’re just turning golden around the edges (this is usually easier to see in the strawberry-flavoured sections than the matcha ones!).

Allow the biscuits to cool on the tray for 5-10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before enjoying.

Leftover biscuits can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days before they start going a little soft.

Recipe

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Pink & Green Checkerboard Biscuits

Inspired by the Li Sisters in Bridgerton: Season 4, these shortbread biscuits are the perfect blend of sugar and spice. Two doughs, one flavoured with matcha and vanilla, the other with strawberry and pink peppercorns, come together to make a delicious, checkerboard-pattern treat

Course Dessert, Snack

Keyword Matcha, Pink peppercorns, Shortbread, strawberry, Vanilla

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 8 minutes minutes

Chill Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours

Servings 16 biscuits

Ingredients

• 25 g caster sugar
• 50 g unsalted butter, diced and softened.
• 75 g plain flour
• 1/2 tbsp freeze dried strawberry powder (see Note 1).
• 1/2 tsp pink peppercorns, finely ground.
• 1/2 tsp matcha powder
• 1/8 tsp vanilla bean paste

Instructions

• Place the sugar, butter and flour into the bowl of a food processor (I use a mini one). Pulse/process until a dough forms.
• Use a weighing scale to divide the dough in half, then place each half into a separate bowl. Knead the freeze dried strawberry powder and ground pink peppercorns into one of the dough halves, then knead the matcha powder and vanilla bean paste into the other.
• Divide each ball of dough into 3 equal pieces. Then, divide 2 of the 3 balls in half, so that you are left with 1 large ball and 4 smaller, equal balls of each colour.
• Use your hands and a bench scraper (or a clean metal ruler/anything that can be used to square off the edges of the dough) to form each of the smaller balls into short, rectangular logs (the cross section should be about 1 cm x 1 cm) of the same length. You should end up with 4 green logs and 4 pink logs.
• Press one pink log alongside one green log. Make sure they are stuck together, but try not to distort the shape too much. Repeat this for the remaining logs.
• Press one pair of logs on top of another, positioning them so that the top green section sits on the bottom pink section and vice versa. Repeat this for the second pair of logs, so that you end up with two larger, rectangular logs with a 2×2 checkerboard pattern.
• Roll out one of the larger dough balls between two sheets of baking paper. Don't add any flour at this stage. Aim to roll the dough into a rough rectangle, slightly wider than the length of one log and a little over 8cm long, so that it can be used to wrap all the way around one of the logs.
• Peel off the top sheet of baking paper, then place one of the logs on top of the rolled out dough, at one end. Use a sharp knife to trim off the excess dough along the back of the log and down both sides, flush with the edges of the log.
• Using the baking paper to help you, roll the log down the length of the rolled out dough, pressing gently to help the dough stick to itself, until it is completely covered, like a Battenberg. Trim off any excess dough, then repeat the process for the second log with the final, large ball of dough (in the other colour).
• Any offcuts can be rolled together and pressed into little round biscuits to be baked alongside the checkerboard biscuits later.
• Wrap both biscuit logs tightly in clingfilm, then place them into the fridge to chill for 2 hours. This will firm them up, so that you can slice them without distorting the checkerboard pattern.
• After 2 hours, preheat the oven to 180°C (conventional oven, not fan). Slice each log into biscuits about 5-7mm thick, then space them out on a baking tray lined with baking paper. The biscuits won't spread very much, so you don't need to leave heaps of room between them.
• Bake the biscuits for 6-8 minutes, until just starting to turn golden around the edges. Allow them to cool on the tray for 5-10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling before serving. The biscuits can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days before they start going a little soft.

Notes

1. If you buy the slices of freeze dried strawberries, this works out at approximately 2g (or 5ish slices). Grind the slices into a fine powder using either a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. 

The Ovis Socks by saskie&co are a super popular design in the knitting sphere: they feature a simple, sheep-inspired colourwork pattern that runs across both socks, despite the colours being inverted to make a ‘mismatched’ pair. I’ve wanted to make them for a while, but they’re knitted with a fingering weight yarn held together with a mohair yarn and I don’t love the feel of mohair (in general, really, but particularly on my feet!). Luckily, my mum loves a cosy, fluffy sock (and a sheep motif, she is a knitter after all), so I figured she would be the perfect person to make these socks for!

Full disclosure: these socks took me a while to finish, not because the knitting itself requires a lot of time/effort (they’re actually pretty quick to work up!), but because I ran into so many problems with gauge/fit/trying to knit them without my mum knowing. I started them in early summer and I finished them… in the New Year. Poor Mum had to open a single sock on Christmas Day (and the ends weren’t even sewn in…)!

In this post, as always with my 'Making a...' series, I'll be chatting about my experience making this pattern, as well as detailing any changes/adaptations I made. If you want to make your own Ovis Socks, you can purchase the pattern from saskie&co on Ravelry here!

The Pattern

The pattern for the Ovis Socks is super clear & concise, without being too brief (I’ve talked before about how I like to be spoon-fed when it comes to knitting patterns!). Each section has a little subheading (e.g. ‘TOE’ or ‘AFTERTHOUGHT HEEL’), which makes it super easy to navigate your way through the instructions— it’s a small thing, but it made a big difference for me!

My favourite thing about this pattern is the design: I think the colourwork pattern is simple, but so effective and I really like the whole mismatched vibe. Not only does switching the colours balance out your yarn usage of each colour (yay for saving money!), but I also just think it’s a really fun, unusual feature. I think saskie&co does this for all of their sock patterns, which I love!

In terms of the construction itself, the socks are knitted cuff-down with an afterthought heel. This was my first time knitting an afterthought heel and I actually quite enjoyed it! The socks are pretty short on the leg: if I made them again, I’d be tempted to make them slightly longer so that they can be worn comfortably with hiking boots (I just feel like they’re hiking socks?!). Luckily, that would be super easy to do with this pattern: you’d just knit more repeats of the colourwork chart!

My only real issue with the pattern was the recommended needle size. The pattern instructs you to use 2.25mm needles, which seems pretty small for what is essentially a DK weight sock (especially one with colourwork!). For the first sock I made, I used the suggested needles for the ribbed cuff, toe and heel, then used a 2.5mm needle for the colourwork (because I just couldn’t bring myself to use a 2.25mm needle for that too). I made the whole sock (at great cost to my fingers, which, let me tell you, were SORE from fighting the yarn) and… it didn’t fit on my mum’s foot. Admittedly, this may have been my fault (the main problem area was the stripe of 3-colour stranded colourwork, so maybe my floats were too tight?), but the fabric was so stiff that it was a) no fun at all to make and b) just didn’t give me the right vibe for a sock (socks are supposed to be soft and cosy, right?!).

Ultimately, I decided to switch to using 3.00mm needles for the whole of the next sock (cuff, heel, toe, leg AND foot) and it was much better: the socks fit perfectly and my fingers were (slightly) less sore. I don’t have a particularly tight tension typically, so I don’t think that was the problem here, but no matter, it worked out! Naturally, because mohair is a menace to frog, I opted to just make a third sock instead of trying to rip back the first one, so, if anyone can think of a use for a lone, almost unwearable, but very beautiful Ovis Sock, let me know!

The Yarn

I decided to make things a little easier for myself by using the same main yarn as the one used in the pattern: Istex Einband (in the shades Almond Heather (9076) and Light Ash Heather (1026)). I get most of my wool from Wool Warehouse, but they don’t stock this particular brand, so I bought it from LindeHobby instead.

This was my first time using Icelandic wool and I have to say, it was a pretty different experience! Usually, I knit socks in wool/nylon blend yarns, so they’re soft and stretchy, but still hardwearing. This yarn is not at all stretchy and not overly soft (I did find it a little hard on my hands!), but it made a really great pair of socks that I know will last for a long time (plus, the mohair softens up the fabric, so it works out). I do like how natural this yarn feels though and I really love the two neutral shades used in the pattern.

The mohair yarn suggested by the pattern (Ritual Dyes Fae) was a bit out of my price range, so I opted to use a cheaper mohair that I knew pretty well already: DROPS Kid Silk. My mum had actually used this particular yarn for mohair socks before and really liked it, so I figured it was a safe bet. It’s very soft and it has a pretty extensive shade range, so I was easily able to find shades that matched the Einband ones (Off White (01) and Toffee (51)). It does tangle pretty easily, but I think that’s a bit of a classic feature of mohair yarns, so I won’t hold it against it.

I made the 5th size and bought two balls of each colour in each yarn (which, in hindsight, was a ridiculous amount of yarn? If only I could explain the actions of past Gemma but, alas, I have no idea what was going through my head…). After making 3 socks (2 with the brown shade as the main colour, 1 with the grey shade as the main colour), I had approximately 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 balls of each leftover. Yes, I know, I know: mistakes were made. The required yardage listed for both shades/yarns in the pattern was 251m and the Istex yarn comes in 50g/250m balls, while the DROPS yarn comes in 25g/210m balls. I guess I must have been very worried about running out? Whatever the case, I am writing this realising I have all of this leftover yarn and will, inevitably, have to make another pair of hard-on-the-fingers socks. Sigh. Maybe I’ll try one of saskie&co’s other sock patterns? Or maybe even… the Ovis Mitts?! I do have some dreams of an Ovis Gnome too… urgh, someone restrain me!

The Knitting Process

This pair of socks posed a lot of new challenges for me: it was my first time making socks with no-stretch yarn, making mohair socks, working an afterthought heel, making a DK weight sock AND making mismatched socks! When I think about that, it’s no surprise that I encountered a few issues throughout the process: that’s a lot of first times for one pair of socks!

Cast-On

The pattern calls for using ‘your choice of stretchy cast-on method’, so I opted to use the German Twisted Cast On, because I’d been using it a lot for my various gnomes at this point. However, I have been finding that it hasn’t been working up super neatly for me recently (can you see the slightly uneven edge on the grey sock?), so I wonder if Alternating Cable might have been a slightly better fit here?

Colourwork

I’ve been working on my colourwork technique over the past year (previously, my technique was, quite literally, dropping and picking up the yarns as needed, which wreaked havoc on my tension!) and have started using a two-handed approach, which I first saw on this Instagram video, by @engineeringloops. I’ve been loving this method! It works so well for two colours, but I haven’t found a way to make it work with three colours, so, whenever there are three-colour sections (like the sheep in this design), I revert back to my drop-and-pick-up method of old.

The main colourwork pattern that repeats throughout the leg and foot of the sock is super simple and easy to remember, which makes the knitting process that bit quicker. I love the subtle, rustic effect the design gives the socks.

The sheep that sit along the top of the sock are a little more complicated, because they contain a third colour. I was so careful with my floats, making sure they weren’t too tight, but I think just having that extra yarn in there really tightens up this section, which definitely affects the fit of the socks. I can see why some knitters opted to duplicate stitch on the heads/legs of the sheep, but it just felt like too much of an extra step at the time! Luckily, on the larger needle size the socks actually go over my mum’s heel, so all’s well that ends well!

Afterthought Heel

As I mentioned, this was my first time working an afterthought heel and it was so much simpler than I expected! I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I’m a convert (I am loyal to my beloved Shadow Wrap Heel!), but I can see that there is a time and a place for an afterthought one (that time and place being a sock featuring intense colourwork!).

It’s a little bit of a drag to have to go back and work the heel after finishing the toe, and it does feel pretty odd essentially knitting a… second toe? I did also have to look up a separate tutorial for picking up the stitches for the heel (apparently, the rule is you always go into the right leg of the stitch, in case you’re wondering too!), but, once I knew that, I was absolutely fine!

Toe

The toe shaping in the pattern is really easy to work, but the finished result is ever so slightly too pointy for my taste: it’s not bad by any means, but I am a big fan of a more rounded toe, so I think I’ll stick to my usual method with future socks.

Blocking

Once I’d made both of the (correctly sized) socks, I wet-blocked them and left them to dry on sock forms (which make the process so much simpler!) to really even out the colourwork and make the knitting (and, by extension, the socks) look super neat! I definitely felt this was necessary, especially with my slightly looser gauge on the 3.00mm needles, which looked a little less neat than the smaller gauge had (but also, you know, actually fit and felt like a sock!). Once blocked though, both sock sizes looked just as neat as each other, so I’m happy.

Final Thoughts

I’m so happy with these Ovis Socks: I’d definitely make them again… for the finished product, not necessarily for the process. If I’m being honest, the yarn hurt my fingers (rip) and the 3-colour section was a bit of a sticking point for me, but I love the design and I really enjoyed learning the new heel technique.

My biggest problem that I ran into with this project was definitely the gauge (and it’s subsequent effect on the fit of the socks). If I did make them again, I do think I would use the 3.00mm needles again: it does make the finished socks ever so slightly less neat, but the fabric is much better (and more sock-suitable!) and it didn’t destroy my fingers in the same way that using the 2.50mm needles did!).

Also, most importantly, my mum (who now finally has her finished Christmas socks!) loves them, which is all that really matters in the end!

If you're interested...

You can buy the Ovis Socks pattern on Ravelry here.

You can find my Ovis Socks project page on Ravelry here.

Gemma

xxx