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Photo from Alex: Trees and Water

on April 23, 2014

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Springpool Woods, Keele, Spring 2014

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Vimto Wine

The wine making is going well; we've just bottled some white grape juice wine made using cheap Tesco grape juice which has turned out at a mighty 13% abv and have started off two more gallons today. One is a Chardonnay kit from Wilkinsons that we've used before and which gave excellent results and the other is more of an experiment - say hello to Vimto wine. I saw a recipe for Ribena wine here and fancied trying something similar so I've substituted Vimto for Ribena. Apparantly it makes a strong wine and is a bit like sherry. The yeast has frothed up and started bubbling already and I only put it in an hour ago. If you fancy joining me in experimental Vimto wine here's the recipe: 600ml Vimto cordial (use the regular one, not sugar free) 1kg caster sugar 1 sachet of wine yeast 1 tsp yeast nutrient Water to top up to the neck of a one gallon demi john Mix together the sugar, Vimto and enough water in a large saucepan to make it all less...

Room To Grow Baby Sweater

This is a generously sized sweater knit in stretchy garter stitch, increasing the length of wear on fast growing babies. The arms and neck are wide to help parents with the challenge of wrestling clothing onto a wriggling baby. It’s easy to knit, simple and practical and the garter stitch also makes it rather cuddly. I designed it last year when I knew loads of people who were expecting babies and wanted to knit them something they could use that wasn't really fiddly. I've made six or seven of these, it's become a reliable stand by pattern for me. To fit 0 – 3 (3 – 6) months 4mm straight needles 100g (125g) double knitting yarn 2 buttons Crochet hook sized between 3.5mm and 4mm (optional) Gauge: 20 sts to 4 inches of garter stitch. Row gauge isn’t necessary for this pattern – woo hoo! WORKED IN GARTER STITCH THROUGHOUT. PATTERN Left arm Cast on 32 (40) sts. Knit until arm measures 5 1/2 (6 1/2) inches, ending with RS facing. Cast on for body At the end of the c...

An expensive low spend week

To start he month I decided to do a low spend week, only spending money on groceries and bills. It was going fine until I sabotaged myself by browsing Vinted. I know, I know, I was throwing myself into the path of temptation because I reached for my phone when I was bored, instead of doing something else. I crumbled when I saw a new pure wool M&S sweater for £6.50 including postage and fees. Given that last year I paid around £55 each for two similar wool sweaters and wore them almost every day it was too good to miss. Culprit A: This got me thinking how this is a low spend and a not low spend situation at the same time. On the one hand I’m irritated at myself for making a non-essential purchase and breaking a run of no spend days, but on the other hand I know I was probably going to buy another expensive wool sweater next Winter, and am telling myself to chill the eff out about it because it’s saved me money further down the line. And all that got me into an annoying but intr...

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