Are you Making any Christmas Presents this Year?

I’m making chocolate truffles. I’m hoping they’ll be successful.

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recipe ??

not really my thing, I seem to have 2 left hands and all thumbs when it comes to hand made Christmas presents.
I do make some chocolate/whiskey truffles and orange marmalade, but couldn’t get any seville oranges in Jan. so no marmalade this year under the tree.
So this year - it will be charity donations all round.

nothing nicer than “giving”… however it is achieved… :slight_smile:

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Do you have the Readers Digest New Cookery Year?
A wonderful recipe there for chocolate truffles.

@Stella I’ve got the BBC Good Food ones lined up. Dry run later today.

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looks to be lots of yummy recipes … we’ll be gaining a few pounds this winter, I reckon… :slight_smile:

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Jane
Hooray for Christmas crafters/grafters. My OH is at work with many knitting needles doing gloves for our children in UK- not heavy to post ! And we’ve found a supplier of really lovely hand-dyed Angora wool in Orkney who sent us yarn by post, so two ticks!
Best wishes for a safe Festive Season!
Francis

Congratulations.
It is worth looking for different yarn and patterns to make original garments.

I have and wear regularly a pair of socks knitted by my aunt and inherited from her in 1987. This year I’ve been knitting some socks for my brother from re-purposed cashmere wool - he has MS and stays in bed a lot so they are soft and warm. Another present I’m making is an “organiser” bag from patchwork material and a pair of old cord trousers - will fill the pockets with lightweight bits and pieces to send off.

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I make all manner of wooden things: bowls, plates, candlesticks, noticeboards, toys - even special knitting bowls…

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I must try to make some socks for myself. I have a book of lovely lacy sock patterns.
Do you knit from the toe or the top? I find the cast on for knitting from the toe impossible, so I graft the ends using kitchener stitch.
How wonderful that you are still wearing your aunt’s socks.

My dad had a lathe and made wonderful things.
I had to look up knitting bowls as I had never heard of them.
If you have wool on skeins and have to wind it into a bowl it might be helpful, but using ready made balls, if you knit from the centre you don’t have a problem.
It is so nice that people make things. Jim couldn’t do without his workshop.
Last winter he repainted the kitchen units, dismantling the units and sanding down each piece and then painting them three times.
It looks better than when it was new.
Carry on making.

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Interesting. I don’t know, ilI just convert wood into (mainly) sawdust and (apparently) interesting things!

The wool bowls I make are quite deep and have a slot in the side to pass the wool through - it prevents the ball from dancing around as you take up the yarn. It also stops the balls of wool becoming a mere plaything for any local cats :wink:

That’s the way to do it!

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I knit from the top using the “continental” cast on method that is quite stretchy. I have taken my pattern from a number of old [pattern books (my grandmothers), Im not very good at grafting but must look up the Kitchener stich.

I do prefer to inherit something l will use on a regular basis when someone dies - I have wooden spoons, kitchen knoves, bowls etc all in daily use and every time I use them I remember that person.

I do have some socks that I made for myself too, but they felted a bit in the wash - I think I bought a set - pattern, 4 balls of sock wool and needles in Lidl !!

Yes that is a good method. I knit into the back of the stitch which gives the same result.
Have you looked at Lovecrafts orDeramores for buying your wool on line?
We have many things that have come from both of our families and we have come to the time that we are now starting to pass them on again.
Kitchener stitch is easy to do as you don’t have many stitches to graft at the toe end. You leave them in two double pointed needles and follow the instructions.

Jane, that is a job on my list, do you remember what paint he used?

I’ve seen them before and love the look of them! I’m forever having wool going everywhere regardless of doing from the centre when I’m crocheting!

This is the paint he used.
Decolab 3V3
Multi materiaux
CUISINE.
He got it from Leroy Merlin.
I must say it wipes clean very well.

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thanks for that, good to have a recommendation as it is a big job and I’d hate for it to not be resilient or cleanable! Now I just need to decide on colour. I was going to do pale grey but now wondering if white / off white would be brighter in our dark kitchen!