And then there were two...

Mrs. Beeton was a name I grew up with. She was the Delia Smith (Martha Stewart) of the victorian era. Her books on household management and cookery changed the lives of many women of her time with their no nonsense approach and are still in print today albeit updated. Her cookbook accompanied me to university and saw me through the early trials and triumphs of running my own kitchen. The BBC did a fantastic dramatisation of her life recently which was fascinating. The matriarch who led a household revolution turned out to be a slip of a girl of 21 with a drive and ambition that saw her transform women's publications.

I was delighted to see a pattern named after her, especially when I read why it was - it summed up her spirit exactly and managed to be incredibly pretty in the process. I have finally completed my own pair.

I can't tell you much about the yarn, it was 10p a ball in a charity shop and came unlabelled. The second I saw them together they were destined for this pattern. It's also a very happy coincidence that the plain purple is a very close match to the pashmina (Yes, Jen I know!) that my Mum has just bought for me. I made them a little longer than usual given that I have monkey arms and often have a bit of a gap at the cuff with some of my clothes.

I love these - both the look and making them and plan on one more pair for myself in black - cotton angora for the main part and the frill in some mystery yarn with a silver thread that's been in my stash for ages - I only have a tiny bit let and I'm so glad I never threw it out, it's perfect for these. I'm yet to use beads as per the pattern - down to supply issues rather than an aversion to knitting with them, but black won't be difficult to match so I hope to use them next time.