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Windy Snow

We spent last weekend in Hastings with a group of friends. It was rather wintry so we didn't make it to the battle site but did stroll along the beach. I'd given a couple of friends Cranford Mitts I'd made as part of the p/hop Mitt-a-long which went down well, though I ended up borrowing one pair which makes me a bad gift giver. Here you are, lovely bespoke mittens, which I will immediately take back and use.


Paula's Cranfords

I made these Cranfords using some Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino which I p/hopped last month along with some from my stash. The mittens are slightly different in colour due to different dyelots but I think I'm the only person who has noticed. The brown edging is a wool/silk blend mystery yarn from my friend Montyknits, I suspect it is Blue Sky Alpaca yarn.

A lot of Hastings seemed rather forlorn in a run down British seaside way, like a forgotten favourite teddy bear left on a shelf. The pier had burnt down which added to the post apocalyptic feel.

Poor pier

I did admire the way everything was linked to the Battle of Hastings, the local bus service is called Arrow, and a weather station on the beach had some apt cartoons.

Snow

The old town was lovely and we found a brilliant deli and a cheese shop which had lots of local Sussex cheeses to try. There were also many kitsch and cute shops and I spied a fair bit of knitting and crochet in the shop windows.

Shop window granny blanket

During the week there had been lots of talk on twitter about baking and this Clementine Cake recipe came up a few times so I decided to make it. It's very easy to make. Boiling the Clementines for two hours is the hardest part. It's also gluten free as it uses ground almonds not flour. It's a brilliant recipe and I will be making it again, though I must warn you, it doesn't last long!

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