Afternoon Tea Throw – Butterfly Cake and Flapjacks

I know it is ages again since I wrote anything – I have been working on a fair-isle cardigan which I hope to finish soon.  Now it is getting chilly – it would be good to wear it.   However I also took a break from that project and knitted 2 more blocks for my Afternoon Tea Throw.  

This first block represents a Butterfly Cake.

 

My mother used to make Butterfly Cakes.  I remember when I was small being fascinated that by just cutting off the top and cutting that piece in half – a cake could have wings!

The second block represents 2 flapjacks – probably not a feature of a posh afternoon tea – but we used to have them whenever we visited my mother’s sister. 

I have a few more ideas for edible blocks – but I also want to include some that represent china.  I also ought to include tea and sugar – and even a tea-cosy!   However – I think before I do any more for this throw – I had better finish the cardigan I am working on and make a few Christmas presents. 

In the last week – I may not have written this blog but I have been to all 3 of my local shops which sell yarn and have ordered some online.  I always say I am going to use up some of my yarn mountain but then I haven’t quite got the right yarn – so I have to buy some more.

Afternoon Tea Throw – Fondant Fancy, Chocolate Tiffin and 3 More Sandwiches

I am supposed to be knitting other things but I have knitted a few more blocks for this throw.  The first was inspired by a pink fondant fancy.

I like the fact that it has a random wavy line across the knitting.  There is an idea that knitting has to be regimented – it doesn’t - it can be random and wavy!  The Chocolate Tiffin block has a much more regular pattern.

I was eating some Chocolate Tiffin when I decided to knit this block.  It isn’t a very traditional “afternoon tea” ingredient – but I like it and I wanted to include some more chocolate in the throw.

The last 3 blocks represent different kinds of sandwiches.  The first one is Tuna and Cucumber, the second Ham and Mustard and the third one is Cheese and Tomato. 

I did think about Coronation Chicken and other more sophisticated fillings but they are not very interesting colour-wise.  I also wanted to pay tribute to the sort of sandwiches I used to eat. 

I am now going to have a short break from the throw and knit a tea cosy for my cousin.

Afternoon Tea Throw – Iced Bun, Viennese Whirl and Sandwich

Last week I knitted two blocks inspired by my grandparents.  When we used to visit them – which was not that often as it was quite a long journey – my grandma used to give us iced buns.  They were her favourite. 

 

Then we used to go into my granddad’s room and he would open a box of Viennese Whirls which were his favourites. 

 

Both of these are not very typical afternoon tea ingredients but I have included them because of the personal connection.  The background represents a Cornish ware plate which can be found in many English households.

The third block is inspired by 2 sandwiches.  The turquoise background is similar to the Poole pottery plates that my parents had.

 

This design has been very difficult.  Originally I thought of a striped block representing a pile of sandwiches – but I thought that was boring.  Then I thought I could just divide the block with a diagonal line representing the filling but this does not work out because the block is not square.  I also tried making the sandwiches smaller and having 4 – but that looked very odd when I knitted it.  My second attempt at actually knitting a block inspired by a sandwich – had just one sandwich – but that looked odd as well.  In this version the sandwich and the filling are thicker which I think looks better.

The filling was originally intended to represent cucumber, then I changed it to lettuce (which is not very traditional but the sort of filling I had at home) and now it is more egg and cress!  I will now knit a few other varieties.

Afternoon Tea Throw – Scotch Egg

I have finished the Scotch Egg block for my throw.  It was very easy to knit and I am happy with it.

I had meant to knit a block inspired by cucumber sandwiches and I will produce one eventually.  I have tried 2 different versions this week and I didn’t like either of them so they have been unravelled.  I will think of something but for now it is better to have a break from that idea and try something else.  I may even go back to the fair-isle cardigan that I am supposed to be knitting.

Afternoon Tea Throw – Chocolate Cake and Swiss Roll

This week I have finished 3 more squares for my afternoon tea throw.  The first one is supposed to be chocolate cake.  In real life I think the filling would probably be a similar colour to the sponge – but that would not make for a good design.  Alternatively my mother used to make a delicious chocolate cake with cream on the top – this would not make a very interesting design either.

The block is the same a one I have knitted before only in different colours.  I have repeated this idea for the Swiss Roll blocks.  The first one is chocolate like the cake and the second one uses red and yellow like the Victoria sponge block.

It is not going to be all cake.  I have thought about some savoury blocks.  I am currently knitting a Scotch egg – that is not a phrase you come across very often!  I am supposed to be finishing a cardigan but I keep getting ideas for my throw and wanting to try them out.

Afternoon Tea Throw – Jam Tart and Cherry Bakewell

After much trial and error – I have managed to come up with a shape that is sort of round.  It is the best I can do in the space available.  The first block I have knitted is inspired by a jam tart.

 

I then knitted the same design again using different colours and added a “cherry”.

 

I am now going to adapt these designs to knit some Swiss Roll!  When I started knitting these blocks – I started to get cravings for cake but fortunately I managed to avoid buying any.

I still don’t know what the final throw will look like – I am just knitting blocks as the ideas occur to me.

Afternoon Tea Throw – Second and Third Steps

I have mainly been working on a fair-isle cardigan which I keep forgetting to photograph.  This week I have also knitted 2 more blocks for my throw.  As I hinted last time – the Angel Cake was an obvious next step.  

I debated a bit about which colours to use but in the end I decided to use the same pink and yellow that I had used in the main part of the Battenburg block. 

The third block is inspired by a Victoria Sandwich cake.  

I do not do baking myself and when I have bought this type of cake – it tends to have a cream filling as well as jam, but I remember hearing that this was incorrect and that a Victoria Sandwich should only include Jam!  Alternatively you could just look at it as a block made up of 3 stripes. 

I am now thinking about how to create some blocks with circular shapes on them – I think I need to find my pattern for the Japanese flag which is always a good starting point.    With knitting - the design has to be oval to turn out circular due to the fact that the stitches are taller than they are wide. 

Afternoon Tea Throw – First Steps

For a while I have been thinking about knitting a throw based on cakes or desserts – the idea being that it is healthier to knit them than eat them.  Unfortunately I think that if I spend a lot of time thinking about cake – I might be tempted to eat some!  The first step in the design process is to write down some ideas.  When the VE day celebrations were happening – I thought I would broaden the idea to include other things which are associated with afternoon tea – such as cake-stands and sugar lumps.  I haven’t come up with a proper design – I just have ideas swirling around in my head.

I often tend to make things up as I go along and I like painting with wool – so the next step was to order some yarn.  Karen Draisey at Oxford Yarn store is operating a mail order service – so I sent her an email with my requirements.  I do love Rowan Felted Tweed and so intend to use that yarn.  This is what she sent me.

I already have some other colours.  I am not exactly sure which colours I will use but I needed some pastry and cake colours. 

The next consideration was the size of needles to use and the number of rows and stitches.  I have already decided to knit separate squares to sew together afterwards and so I will cast on and off with a main colour.  When I have knitted the squares that I want to – I can then knit some more to pull the design together.  I don’t like heavy throws and I don’t want it to be too big  - so I have decided to use 5mm needles (so much larger than normal for this yarn), and I am casting on 34sts and knitting 48 rows.  Knowing how things turn out  - I expect the squares will still not all be the same size.

Anyway when I was talking about this idea to my sister – we somehow got on to talking about Battenburg cake – I think our father liked it – so I decided to use that for my sample square.

I think it has turned out well.  I think this piece of knitting does say “Battenburg”!  I am supposed to be finishing a cardigan but I am now itching to knit a slice of Angel cake.