DIY: Chunky Knitted Scarf

Over the last few weeks I've found myself settling down in the evening to catch up on a little TV and, during these unproductive moments, I've been picking up some extra large knitting needles and knitting myself a scarf.

I picked up some beautifully soft wool from a local shop dedicated to knitting (yes, these exist!) and slowly recalled the skills I was taught by my grandmother when I was little.

When I was very young, I'd sit curled up on the sofa in front of early morning cartoons, a cup of contraband milky sweet tea on my armrest (my mother didn't want us having the caffeine so my Gran would sneak us cups while she was still asleep!) and an old ball of wool nestled between my feet. Gran would show me over and over how to knit a row of stitches and then I'd have a go and create line upon line of holey wool. Apparently, some of her lessons paid off and I was able to do a slightly better job this time around!

After a bit of a shaky start (I unravelled my first AND second attempts) I finally worked out exactly how many stitches wide I wanted my scarf and how to change colours. Before long I was happily knitting away and my scarf was appearing at astonishing speed!

A couple of days ago, I eventually finished and am very proud of my finished product! I found knitting to be a great little way to unwind in the evening and who knows, I may even tackle a jumper next (although that may be wishful thinking!).

Birthday Weekend Part Two: Inamo, Soho Hotel and Scott's Restaurant, Mayfair

Following a fantastic Friday evening and a much more laid back Saturday (trashy TV, farmers market food and lots of tea) my birthday celebrations upped the antics again as I went to see my family on Sunday.

I met my mother and my sister in Inamo, a Soho oriental fusion restaurant known for it's interactive experience. When we were seated, our waitress explained to us how to order. We had to use a special track pad built into the table to pick what we wanted- as we scanned over the options, the dishes were projected onto our plates in font of us! We could also pick our table decoration or play games on table top! This made the experience of picking our food significantly more exciting, however I was concerned that the fancy ordering system would detract away from what was the main attraction for me, the food! Luckily, I was proved wrong and the food was delicious, especially the spicy aubergine. The sauce was so good that the three of us were mopping it up with anything and everything we had. We even stopped our poor waitress from removing the seemingly empty bowl three times in a desperate attempt to lick up the last tasty morsels! Our other dishes were also yummy- I especially loved the chicken satay and my drink which was a mocktail made up of passionfruit and guava juice. My little sister demolished her salmon, declaring it simply to be 'the best cooked salmon she'd ever tasted!'- high praise indeed coming from her!

After a long lunch, we decided it was cocktail time and so we went back to one of Mum's favourite haunts- the Soho Hotel. There, we firstly tucked into a pot or two of tea (so civilised!) before perusing the extensive cocktail menu while I was finally allowed to open my birthday prezzies! Eventually, we settled on some yummy concoctions and feeling rather spoilt, I had a chance to play with my lovely new camera!

After our cocktails had been sipped away, we headed for dinner at Scott's Restaurant in Mayfair, a place known for its exceptional seafood. Before long, we were diving into a huge pile of oysters and other fishy foods, as well as my two favourite meats, duck and venison. My favourite dish however had to be my pudding, a caramel fondant with salted caramel ice-cream. Heaven on a plate!

Some time later, feeling very full and just a bit sleepy I finally slipped into my waiting car, ready to go home. All in all, I'd had an absolutely wonderful birthday weekend full of surprises and wonderful food. What more could a girl ask for?