Loops, loops everywhere!! :-)

Today's visit to the propagator found loops popping up all over the place!

As a consequence, the prop has now been moved under the lights - no leggy seedlings in this house if you please......







So the scores on the doors so far:

Orange Hab - (loved them last season and still have a freezer full!) 0/2
Peruvian White Hab 1/2
Yellow Pointed Hab 2/2 (Possibly not if this is a rogue seed!)
Chocolate Hab 0/2
Fatalii 0/2
Yellow Scorpion 0/2
Jamaican Red Hot 0/2
Jamaican Mini Bonnet 0/2
7 Pot White 0/2
7 Pot Brain 1/2
Dorset Naga 0/2
Bhut Jolokia 0/2
Bonda Ma Jackques 0/2
Turbo Pube 0/2
Cili Goronong Yellow 0/2
Bulgarian Carrot 1/1
CAP 253 C 0/2
Black Scorpion Tongue 1/2
SuperChilli 0/2
Limo 2/2
Baby Sweet 1/2

Not a bad start at all! :-)

Kat's "Two-Sticks" Easy Cable Hat

Well, I've knitted so many of the "Two-Sticks" Ear-Flat hats, I decided it was time I moved on a little! I've always feared cabling, but discovered it can be really easy and I've made a pattern that gives a really nice continuous design around the hat. Again, this hat is knit up on two needles, no circulars required :-)

Where I have put "C6F" all you have to do is slip the next 3 stitches onto a spare needle and hold them forward (to the front of the work) then knit the 3 stitches that follow those. Once you've done that, knit the 3 from the spare needle so in effect, they are crossing over the previous stitches.

ABBREVIATIONS:
K = knit
P = purl
K2tog = knit 2 together
P2tog = Purl 2 together
RS = right side
WS = wrong side
St-St = Stockinette
sts = stitch(es)

YOU WILL NEED:
5mm Needles.
Chunky yarn in whatever 2 colours you would like. I used a variegated yarn for my main colour so the finished hat has more colours in it.

METHOD:
Cast on 98 sts in the colour you'd like for the band.
ROW 1: (K2, P2) to end
ROW 2: (P2, K2) to end
ROW 3: (K2, P2) to end
Row 4: (P2, K2) to end

Continue in established pattern until you have 20 rows, ending on a WS row.
Changing to the main colour and St-St 2 rows.
Now it's time to start the cabling.

CABLE PATTERN:
ROW 1: K1, (K2, C6F, K2, P2, K2, P2) 6 times, K1
ROW 2: P1, (K2, P2, K2, P10) 6 times, P1
ROW 3: K1, (K10, P2, K2, P2) 6 times, K1
ROW 4: P1, (K2, P2, K2, P10) 6 times, P1

Repeat the above 4 rows another 3 times.
Knit Row 1 & 2 once more.

REDUCE FOR TOP
Now it's time to start reducing for the top of the hat.
K1, (K10, K2tog) 8 times, K1 - 90
Purl Row
K7, K2tog to end - 80
Purl Row
K6, K2tog to end - 70
Purl Row
K5, K2tog to end - 60
Purl Row
K4, K2tog to end - 50
Purl Row
K3, K2tog to end - 40
Purl Row
K2, K2tog to end - 30
Purl Row
K1, K2tog to end - 20
Purl Row
K2tog to end - 10
P2 tog to end - 5

Cut the yarn, leaving a good length tail; enough to sew down the seam. Thread the tail through remaining sts and pull tightly together to secure.
Sew down the row ends (using mattress stitch if you can, but not essential).

Sew in any ends (or worms as my other half likes to call them) and you are finished!
If you'd like, you can add something like a button or a knitted flower - Put the finished hat on your head, position the accessory in front of a mirror so it is where you like it and then sew it down; preferably, take it off your head first or your accessory may be a tad more permanent than you'd like!

You should end up with something like these lovely hats:

It's germination time again!

I can't believe it! It's come around already and, (pardon the cliche) it seems like only yesterday I was nervously popping seeds into soil for the first time...

But here we are, once again; and without further ado, let me introduce you to this year's brood (Planted on 5 Jan):

Burried in there we have the following varieties:

Orange Habanero - (I loved them last season and still have a freezer full!)
Peruvian White Habanero
Yellow Pointed Habanero
Chocolate Habanero
Fatalii
Yellow Scorpion
Jamaican Red Hot
Jamaican Mini Bonnet
7 Pot White
7 Pot Brain
Dorset Naga
Bhut Jolokia
Bonda Ma Jackques
Turbo Pube
Cili Goronong Yellow
Bulgarian Carrot
CAP 253 C
Black Scorpion Tongue
SuperChilli
Limo
Baby Sweet

And if that wasn't enough to be getting on with, I still have my purple Bonsai and a Chocolate Jolokia Bhut clone - otherwise known as the "Turd Plant" (Thanks Dave!)

I made the bonsai from a C. Chinense/C.Annuum Cross. It's my first bonsai and I have to say it is doing wonderfully and it's so pretty:

It also has buds, though I assume it's very early for them to turn into pods.... we shall see!

The Chocolate Jolokia Bhut clone was sent to me by a friend called Dave who I know through a chilli grower's forum - It is also looking healthy.

Though not much was happening in terms of growth, I took the lack of wilt or signs of turning brown to mean that it was surviving; now it has just begun to grow a new leaf - happy confirmation that we are A-OK! (New leaf circled):

So all in all, a good start; what we want now is for some seedlings to sprout!
I shall update when they start to break through :-)

Chilli