The bewitching Ms. Witch ...

So how do you like Ms. Witch?

I cast her off yesterday, and then showed her to Emi when he came home from school, thinking that she would be of no great interest to a nine year old boy like him, but he immediately fell under her spell. I love her, he said. Can I have her? She can sit beside Swampy, and keep him company when I'm at school.

Now I should explain that Swampy is the latest addition to Emi’s growing menagerie. Swampy is a carnivore, aVenus Fly Trap plant, who hangs out on the mantelpiece in Emi's bedroom. We got Swampy a few weeks ago by way of a Sunday afternoon bribe for doing a heavy weekend of homework. And every day since then Emi has been very conscientious about giving Swampy a drink. The plant label told us that he liked to live in swamps – hence the name, and the zealous watering regime.

Anyway I digress: back to Ms. Witch. She’s made using Worsted weight yarn. I’ve used Sublime Extra Fine Merino Worsted, which is a truly lovely yarn to work with: really soft with little tendency to split. I chose autumnal colours to match the season: Wicker (061) for the skin tones, Jet Black (013) for the black bits, Mole (056) for her brown hair and Marmalade (478) for the pumpkin orange bits.

When I’m making toys I like to use smaller needles than they recommend for the yarn in order to get a nice tightly woven knit. To my way of thinking it wouldn’t look good if we were able to see Ms Witch’s stuffing through her dress. For this weight of yarn you’d normally use 4.5 mm needles, but I chose to use 3 mm needles to get the desired result. This produced a tension of 25 stitches x 30 rows for a 10cm x 10 cm/ 4" x 4" swatch.

If you’d like to make her, she’s pretty straightforward. Just read on for the pattern.

Hello October ...

We've been cooped up for far too long, the Wonderdog and I. I've been crazy busy with work for several days now, tied to my computer and unable to go outside and enjoy this lovely late summer/ early autumn weather. Sadly the weathermen are telling us that after today we're in for a change, so we seized the initiative this morning and headed out into the elements to embrace the season.

Michaelmas Day, the Feast of Saint Michael and all the Angels ...

Happy Michaelmas Day!

The face that launched a thousand reprimands ...

The other day I was doing some research in the Basilica of Sant Feliu in Girona when this face stopped me in my tracks. She seemed to be looking straight at me, and she didn't seem too pleased with what she saw ... .

Crockpot apple butter ...

My house smells wonderful at the moment. If I could bottle this aroma and sell it as the essence of autumn I think I'd make a fortune. Jo Malone would definitely be interested ... .

I've been busy with my crockpot making apple butter, and the waft of spiced apple is everywhere. Emi came home from swim club and remarked on it before I'd even got the front door open ... .

And happily the product of all this industry tastes as good as it smells. I think apple butter is a Dutch or an Amish invention, and it's really worth trying. You can use it like jam on toast or muffins. It works beautifully as an applesauce substitute with pork or cold cuts, and you could also serve it as an accompaniment to some nice strong cheese.

The secret to making this delicious apple butter is to cook the apples very slowly over a low heat without letting them burn. So you see the crockpot is the ultimate gizmo to spare you toil and trouble. If you've got one, you'd have to be crazy not to use it.

Anyway just read on for my recipe.