Words & Stitches

knits!

2012-02-10T17:41:00.002Z

So, inspired by made by rae (hope that link works!) I've ventured into sewing with knits. I made this envelope T for F using the pattern in Growing Up Sew Liberated, from fabric bought from Ray Stitch some time ago. All I can remember is its an organic jersey. And I think it turned out ok...it fits Right Now, so I better get it on him asap.
I'm having some computer problems so its mobile-only blogging at present, so sorry about the picture quality.

ETA: right - hopefully those links are fixed now!

vintage for boys

2012-02-09T11:42:00.001Z

My attempts to marry a love of vintage style and quality with boy-friendly decor: B's new vintage Horrocks' Thomas curtains. I do believe they've never been used and the trains are slightly creepy in their expressions but we all love them.

little knits

2012-01-29T16:23:00.001Z

While I'm not really blogging, I am knitting. And thanks to recent talking to's I've had from myself, I've ended up with two projects on the go, both for the boys. The first is an Elisaac (you should really check it out, its a great little jumper with a cool construction). My gauge is off but I really love these yarns (both together and seperately). So I am re-knitting this after I knit an entire one already and tried to fool it into being the right size by putting it in B's jumper drawer. Maybe proximity would help....but no. Still wide enough for a six year old and long enough for a 3 year old. But after frogging and reknitting the body I lost heart at the sleeves. Enter a new jumper, this time for F. I don't like the colours but I love the yarn (Rowan purelife wool dk), and the pattern ( Drops) is cute. So now two bodies and no sleeves...
Oh, the talking to was about knitting for fun, which is why I cast on a second jumper rather than muddle on with something I was sick of knitting. Unusual for me. But now I think it would be more fun to have new jumperd for my boys, so sleeves it is.

cold

2012-01-14T17:22:00.001Z

Life seems to be increasingly busy, for all the best reasons. But this means that there is always a choice being made - if I choose to spend my time on this, then I dont get to do that. If I want this, I have to forgoe that. Obviously this is always the case, its just more obvious to me now when the choices are so often between things that I value equally. But in the end theres no choice, really. A walk in the cold winter sunshine with all my boys always wins (even over knitting).

winter walks

2011-12-31T14:07:00.001Z

mobile blogging. How very 2012 ( or maybe 2011 and I'm late to the party). Out walking without kids but with new gloves.

Timely

2011-10-09T17:05:00.000+01:00

Well, with one thing or another, I missed posting for a whole month there. Turns out that working a busy job, having a family, a few hobbies, remnants of a social life and the odd holiday takes up pretty much all my time. Oh, and sleeping. Or not sleeping, as the case may be. Anyway, I'm still here, I have many, many blog posts in my head, and intentions of sometime maybe actually posting them. In the meantime, there are new cyclamen in my house, which can only be good.

Blackcurrant cordial

2011-08-31T12:24:00.001+01:00

I like cordial, but not really the bought kind. And I like making stuff, but really I have enough jam already. So I decided to make some blackcurrant cordial. Last year I made elderberry cordial, and it worked fine - I'm still drinking it! So I decided to wing it with the blackcurrants and did this:
Brought my blackcurrants to the boil with a dash of water, then simmered for a few minutes until they all burst. Then I pushed this through a sieve (you could drain them in a muslin), and measured this in a jug. I then added as much water again, and half as much sugar, brought this to the boil for a few minutes, then put into sterile bottles and kept this in the fridge. I'm sure it wouldn't last for ever, but it lasted at least 5 weeks until I had drunk it all! I'd definately do this again with other fruits - raspberries, elderberries, maybe blueberries too.

Redressing the gender imbalance

2011-08-28T17:24:00.000+01:00

A few weekends ago, we went and collected three new additions to our brood...

Meet Bat (a Nera), Butter (an Oxford Brown) and Mrs Bogey (an Oxford Blue). This is what happend when you let your two year old name your chooks. It took me a full week to realise we had named one of them Butter Chicken.
They are quite lovely, and very messy. They let B pat them, eat everything that comes their way, and dig up all my plants. They also poo everywhere, and escape from every attempt to pen them in to one corner of the garden. They give us three lovely little eggs every day.

Big boy quilt

2011-07-23T13:29:00.000+01:00

Over the past few weeks, I have managed to turn this:

into this:

A new quilt top for my big boy, who is soon to progress to a big boy bed and clearly needed a quilt for it.

Fabric is Wee Woodland by Keiki (Moda fabrics), from Fabricworm. I used this zigzag quilt tutorial as a guide. Its flannel, so its a lovely big warm thing. The plan now is to store it away until I hit the Festival of Quilts, where I can hopefully find some good backing fabric, then turn it into a useable quilt over winter. It turned out a little Christmas-ey, but otherwise I think its ok, and B likes it (for the moment), which is really the main thing.

Summer vest

2011-07-12T13:25:00.000+01:00

So it turns out that in England, you need a summer vest for your baby. Who would have thought? Luckily, I had planned ahead by cleverly knitting almost all of a vest in early spring. Hmmm. Why did I knit almost all of a vest? Because I ran out of yarn. It was a gallant effort to use up some of my larger scraps of yarn, but on this occasion, I juuuust underestimated. So the top sixth of the back is a slightly different shade of yellow. And then once I finished the actual vest, I couldn't face doing the bands. Because I didn't like the different shade of yellow, and it was all a bit blah. Then the warm weather stopped, and he really needed a vest. And it became very evident that if I didn't finish it now, he would be way too big for it. So I grabbed the nearest yarn - my first attempt at handdyeing yarn - and knit it on. Yep, its DK and the vest is sport weight. But you know what? It doesn't matter. It fits (for another week maybe!), it is warm, it stays on, and the yellow is so gorgeous and soft that I pat him even more than usual.

Yay for finally finishing things, even in a really mediocre way!

Little Green Courgette...

2011-07-01T19:38:00.000+01:00

So Mootthings asked if I had any courgette recipes (its getting to glut time here in the UK). And why yes, of course. Whilst they are called zucchini where I'm from, they still proliferate in great numbers in the garden.
Currently, I love them done Italian-style, like this: Slice your courgettes into 1cm wide circles/slices. Cook a little garlic in a decent amount of olive oil in a pan. Add the courgettes and some assorted italian-style herbs (dried or fresh, although I think dry oregano is the bees for this recipe). Let them brown just slightly then put the lid on and cook for around 10 minutes or so, until they start to look softened in the centres. Shake them around a bit while they are cooking. Then to finish them off, make a little space in the centre of a pan and fry an anchovy until it is soft and melty, stir it in and then squeeze over some lemon juice. Its yummy as a side, I serve it with Gnocchi alla Romana. I have a feeling the recipe originally came from Jamie Oliver. Its great for using up respectable amounts of courgette/zucchini.
Or you can go a little crazy and try zucchini bread. This is delicious (although it is moist and won't keep for ever if the weather is hot).
Beat 3 eggs until foamy, blend in 1 cup of oil, 1.5 cup sugar, 2 cup grated zucchini, and some vanilla essence. Sift 3 cup SR flour & a little salt into the mix and stir. Add 1 cup chopped walnuts, put into 2 prepared tins (I tend to use loaf tins) and cook in a mod oven for around an hour. You can halve this ok, either using 2 small eggs or 1 large one, and it is still ok. I expect the cake would freeze fine too, so you could make two and have one for later (if there is room in your freezer, I'm not the kind of person who has room in their freezer for a cake).
I also saw this recipe for courgette risotto (which surely should be zucchini risotto?) by Angela Hartnett in the guardian, and intend to have a go shortly - I'll let you know how it goes (or you could let me know if you get round to it sooner).
And if you want more inspiration, have a look here. Yummy ideas...

(PS, sorry about the tacky title, but it brings to my mind such wonderful images of Prince as allotmenteer that I couldn't help myself. Of course, stranger things have happened...)

Loving it...

2011-06-26T19:23:00.000+01:00

This week I have been loving...
...broad bean and pea dip (I know! Broad beans - how I dislike thee)
...Louise cake made with damson jam (I know, mum, its really called raspberry shortcake, but I think Louise cake is prettier).
...Oxford Kitchen Yarns beautiful floor quilt
...starting new projects
...foxy fabric
...Felix's meta pinterest board
...feet

Hope you all had a great weekend

Climbing the walls

2011-06-24T15:55:00.000+01:00

When we moved into our place a year ago (!), we spent considerable amounts of resources (temporal and financial) acquiring furniture that we actually liked, would remain functional after more than 6 months and look the part in this 1930's semi. We largely solved that problem. However, the blank walls were crying out for some decoration, and turns out that frames are about as expensive as furniture. So I bought a two lovely pieces of screenprinting from Helen Rawlinson on Etsy. She has lovely stuff, and works out of London. The pieces turned up so quickly, and I got some canvases and glued them on. The ABC one didn't fit a standard canvas size, so I sewed a little linen bias binding on two edges, which looks ok I think. So now the big boy's room is a bit brighter...

and our room is a little less empty looking.

I also decided we needed a new duvet cover. I had a lovely piece of blue and white fabric in my stash, enormous and bought for a song second-hand a few years ago. But it wasn't quite enough, so I found a lovely piece of 'very vintage' Irish linen online.

I know, it just looks like a sheet in this picture. Trust me, it is gorgeous. Cool, smooth, clearly used as it is lovely and soft. It has a hand stitched seam up the centre that is done with the most minute stitches, and the hems are so beautifully sewn, all by hand. Someone spent a lot of time on this piece of fabric. It also had a weavers mark on it:

One day I'll remember to take a picture of the finished duvet cover, but I managed to keep the centre seam and some of the hems. It had a few tiny pieces of wear, but these were easy enough to fix. I also have enough left to make some cushion/pillow covers (one day!). I love having this treasured old piece as my treasured new thing.

summer meals

2011-06-22T15:01:00.000+01:00

So with the veg box and the veg garden both providing us with assorted delicious things, we occasionally end up with significant amounts of veg. For example, spinach/chard/cavalo nero/leafy greens. I have always loved the idea of spinach & feta pie/tart, but I am the first to admit that they can be bland, mushy old things. So I started on a quest to make my perfect S&F tart. It took several goes, but I think I'm nearly there. And, surprise!, S likes it too. So here it is - my Spinach & Feta tart recipe. Well, its not really a recipe, more like broad guidelines. See what you think.

1. Leaves: you need a lot of leaves. As much as you can get your hands on really. The best tarts come from a blend of chard and spinach, I think, but you can really use almost anything. Baby spinach leaves from the supermarket will do, but they are the least tasty (maybe better for those spinach-shy folks). Anyway, chop some shallots, fry them off gently, add some garlic if you like, then put your leaves in, turn the heat right down and put the lid on. Turn them over a few times, until they wilt down. I usually add them in a few goes, to fit them into the frypan. It is essential that you squeeze your spinach out as much as possible before you put it in the pie - you want as little liquid in the pie as possible.

2. White sauce: You need a small amount of white sauce, made to be quite thick (butter, flour, milk). You can put cheese in if you like, or some mustard, or something else, or nothing.

3. Feta: the better your feta, the better your tart. Have a taste of it before you finish the filling as it seems to vary a lot in saltiness and you might need to adjust your seasoning.

4. Flavours: Here you can be flexible, but I think it really needs the following - herbs (ideally fresh dill and parsley), a little grated lemon zest, and pine nuts. You could also add almost any 'soft' herb, really - basil, oregano, new thyme leaves, chives, and things like capers and olives are also good.

So mix all your components together, except the pine nuts if you're using them.

roll out some pastry. I used to make my own, but actually \I prefer shop puff pastry for this. Half a block is fine. Roll it into a square. Put your filling in the middle, in a sort of flat lump. Sprinkle over your pine nuts. In the picture above I just folded the two edges over, but it works better if you pull the four sides up, with corners out, then fold the corners in. This makes it almost sealed, but not quite. Juices stay in, but it allows some evaporation without the filling getting too dry. Sesame seeds on top is nice too.

So thats it. Nice with a little pinot grigio.

If you are a 'nap cooker' like me (as in, while the kids are having a nap you get most of your dinner cooked so that at 5pm witching hour you can focus on children not sustaining injuries, rather than the evening meal), then this is great - just make as much or as little of it up until you roll out the pastry, then finish it off and put it in the oven for about 15 minutes when you have a few seconds.

ongoing

2011-06-02T15:09:00.000+01:00

While we were on holiday, the garden kept growing. And blooming. Turns out those scrappy old leaves I'd been wondering about, dotted around the garden, were irises. Out of focus irises, but still pretty :) And the roses are turning out to be pleasantly old fashioned and wonderfully smelly.

This is my favourite view from inside at the moment. The pot is fresias, but I think the leaves are rather lovely. Outside is the mock orange, which is carpeting the grass in white. Its all very crisp and springy.

More holidays

2011-05-31T11:58:00.000+01:00

After our week in Cornwall, we all headed off to Lucca, in Tuscany, for a week. Lucca is a walled medieval city, and the walls are incredibly thick and fortified. You can walk or cycle around the top of the wall around the entire city (4km). Or you can take a horse and carriage. And stop the bicycle-gelati guy for a gelati on the way.

The Guinigi tower is a bit of an icon of Italy, and it is a spectacular view. The trees that grow on the top are really quite large.

The garden at Palazzo Pfanner. We really enjoyed both the garden and the palazzo, well worth the visit.

This walled garden was just around the corner from our apartment. It was lovely and private, with its windows looking out to the street. From the street, it just looked like any other building.
Lucca was a fabulous place to spend a week. Our apartment was expansive and lovely, there were playgrounds nearby, the kids had a great time and were fussed over everywhere, the food was spectacular (as always). I learned more about the intricacies of ordering coffee by visiting the local cafe every day, and indulged in a holiday favourite of cakes for breakfast. When can I go again?!

On holiday

2011-05-26T08:51:00.000+01:00

We've been on holiday. The first week was spent at Tintagel, exploring some of the nearby Cornish villages.

Highlights for adults - seafood, local pubs, coast walks.

Highlights for kids - tractors towing boats, crab pots and dragon poo (don't ask).

Visually, the place was inspiring: herringbone stone walls, tapestried wildflower cliffs, monochrome quilted beaches.

Zoo Pants

2011-04-27T19:58:00.000+01:00

We've had warm weather here in the UK, which highlighted a distinct lack of suitable attire for a trip to the zoo for a friend's 2nd birthday party. However, this significant problem was soon remedied thanks to my generic (but rapidly becoming too small) pants pattern and some lovely fabric from Laurie Wisbrun Urban Circus (Giraffe's Earth and Pachyderm Dot Earth on the trim).
And yes, we saw giraffes.

Cabbages

2011-04-19T20:39:00.000+01:00

Spiral Cabbage fabric by Helen Klebesadel on Spoonflower. Check out her spectacular botanical paintings here.

Aiming to eat seasonally where possible is all well and good, but if you live in England it can be a bit dull for some of the year. Our veg boxes to date have very often included cabbages. Its not that I don't like cabbage...but I'm not sure I really like it. I guess I have eaten so little of it I'm not really sure of what to do with it. But I've had to try harder in recent weeks, and we now have two favourite cabbage-inclusive meals added to our repertoire.
The first is like a winter coleslaw-type salad. Just shred cabbage, carrots, celery and apple. You can include most anything you like, but those basics are good. Then top with smoked mackerel, torn into chunks. The dressing is some creme fraiche and lemon juice with a good dollop of horseradish, but you can't add it until the last minute as the salad just drinks it up. I make twice as much as I think I'll need, and we always use it up. This isn't a very kid-friendly salad (except for the mackerel, which our kid likes), but it is yummy and light and at least makes a stab at looking forward to spring.
The second is Jamie Oliver's Italian Bread and Cabbage Soup with Sage Butter. Really, the name says it all, except it is only just a soup. I have made it with too-fresh shop bread, and its ok, but it really shines with stale, crusty, ciabatta-style bread, which in this house means planning an extra loaf earlier in the week (I can't get fontina cheese at my local supermarket, so I used gouda and it was fine). But it is worth it, and the left-overs are even more delicious so make heaps. And its kid-accessible.
So for those heading into more wintery months, I would highly recommend both meals (although I can understand that the mackerel salad might be an acquired taste). And it looks like, on this side of the planet, that the cabbage experiments are giving way to asparagus adventures...how I love an early spring!

On my mantel this week...

2011-04-15T17:46:00.001+01:00

Blues.

Spring greens

2011-04-14T14:24:00.000+01:00

I started this top at the start of spring in 2010. It always seemed slightly too big, and I was worried. So when I became a bit too pregnant to try it on properly, I stopped knitting. I picked it up again at the end of this winter, when it is so grey and dull outside that the only sensible thing to do is knit in the brightest, best green you can find. I finished it in a week or two. While it is a bit larger than I would like, I still really love it. The cotton is a bit heavy, and it pulls down over my shoulders a bit, but I adore the colour and the pattern is very sweet. I would definately knit this again, although maybe in something a bit lighter.

Pattern: Peasy
Yarn: RYC Luxury Cotton DK in Cabbage.

Please forgive the not-so-brilliant pictures. I'll try to get a few that give a better idea of the yarn and colour, but this is probably all you'll see of it on me.

Charmer

2011-04-08T15:30:00.000+01:00

In the wild

In my garden.
Snakes head fritillary

Growth

2011-03-30T13:14:00.002+01:00

The garden is just bursting into life. There are a few flowers scattered around, but most of the drama is coming from the leaves. The rhubarb astonishes me daily; obviously neglected when we moved in, with the most cursory care it has made a triumphant comeback.

Some of the roses have joined in, opening beautifully coloured new leaves. And almost every day I find a new rose that has been strimmered to the ground, or buried under rotting apples or a mound of climber, and has sent out a few wobbly shoots. I'm sure some won't make it, but others look like they'll give it a go.

Yesterday's discovery: violets! Tiny, stunted, neglected things but now I know they are there I can help out a bit.

On my mantelpiece...

2011-03-27T13:07:00.000+01:00

Are you sick of daffodils yet? Not me....

Tastes of times past

2011-03-26T12:00:00.000Z

Nothing tastes to me more like childhood than pikelets. Our babysitters made pikelets for us after school. Later, I made pikelets for my brother after school. I entered them in the local show (I think I may have won the odd third prize. My pikelets were never perfectly oval, which I seem to remember was the goal. I did better with the miniature garden category). And now I get to make them for my hungry boys. Turns out they are a perfect pre- and post-swimming snack, and conveniently sized for a two year old. And a great excuse for a sit-down morning tea on a sunny spring day.

My pikelet recipe:

Beat an egg, 2oz sugar, 1/2 oz butter and 5 tblspn milk together. Stir in 4oz SR flour and some nutmeg (or not, if you have a nutmeg-hating family member). Drop spoonfuls into a hot pan (despite using nonstick pans I still use a smear of butter in the pan, or they don't taste quite right). Flip when they start to bubble, serve warm (with butter if you're feeling decadent). Delicious.

Beginnings

2011-03-24T11:25:00.002Z

With all this spring in the air, I feel the need to get new projects started and to tidy up a bit. Using up some yarn in my stash seemed to fit both bills. The only jumper-quantity of yarn I had was some Jamieson and Smith 2-ply jumper weight yarn in the lovely colour of FC54. I love the colour, but the yarn put me off - a bit scratchy in that shetland way, and thin. But its all I had - so I swatched. And you know what? It is so beautiful. It is very hard to capture the colour - this picture is a bit light, but you get the idea - gorgeous heathered pinks and grey-blues. A bit crunchy, but it is softening as I knit. The swatch went so well that I cast on the next night for a cardigan. Now the big question - do I have enough yarn?

Mellow Yellow

2011-03-22T13:34:00.000Z

Our garden is currently green (grass, weeds & moss pretending to be lawn), brown (trees and bushes about to have leaves) and yellow (daffodils and forsythia). I'm hoping that this trend won't last and that there will be a lot more green and additional colours in the coming months, but right now its kinda cool. It keeps drawing me outside, promising spring. And these duck bootees keep making me laugh (thanks mum!)

Later than belated

2011-03-21T11:09:00.000Z

A friend and neighbour had a lovely little girl last year. Yep. Last year. And not even at the end of last year, like I did, but in the middle of last year. Which is fine, except about 3 months before she was born I said that I would make a quilt and cushion covers for her room. Her mother had chosen some fabric and had been quoted a totally outrageous amount of money to have them made (the quilt in particular was ludicrously priced - and it wasn't even a quilt, just a single piece of fabric, front and back, with a single quilted seam about 3 inches in from the edge as a border). So I finished the quilt a month or two after she was born, and felt guilty about the delay. But then I started on the cushion covers - and got the heebie jeebies about them. The ones that I was copying (made for her first child) had a zip closure at the side seam, and piping. How hard could it be? Well, I wasn't sure and I didn't want to find out! Despite buying plenty of fabric (it is Elephant and Castle Blossom and Lafayette Peony from Designers Guild), I had a paranoia about wasting any and not making them to a professional level (like I would ever be able to!). Finally, guilt overcame my paralysing self-doubt, and I got started. This is the first one, and the second one was finished yesterday. You know what? They look great!! They aren't perfect, but they are pretty good considering my sewing skills, and they are handmade with love and care. I'm now inspired to make some for me :)

(my apologies - for some unknown reason Blogger is rotating my pictures for me today. Just tip your head to the right for the time being)

Winnings

2011-03-19T11:00:00.000Z

The other day I won a blog contest on Made by Rae's Celebrate the Boy month - 3 yards of fabric from Fabricworm, from the Circa 60 Beach Mod collection by Monaluna. And it has arrived already! It is organic cotton, and is a bit lighter and smoother than regular quilting weight cotton, but it is glorious and makes me think of sunny days and holidays and shorts. And even shirts (especially the caravan print) - I know I said I would never make another one, but it seems that sewing shirts for boys is something like labour - after a while you forget about the process and focus on the wonderful outcome :)

I thought I would order the spots and the ducks as contrast trim, but they aren't quite right. However they are gorgeous in their own right (although I wish I hadn't chosen the spots - I have so many already!) and I think I'll have enough in those half-yard sections to make something for the littlest boy. But there are a few other projects to finish before I can cut into these beauties.

Pink poppies

2011-03-17T13:08:00.000Z

I love having two little boys, and sewing and knitting for them. But there are so many pretty girl patterns out there that sometimes I just have to have a go. And luckily I have friends and family with gorgeous little girls to be recipients. I found a ball of Sublime Yarns cashmere merino silk in my stash, in a pretty pink colourway and cast on for the sweet Poppy hat. And guess what? It was finished the next night! Its a lovely and interesting pattern that knits up quickly, and looks cute even on my two year old boy (he quite likes pink, so he was happy to model). This photo somehow shows up the short-row wraps more than in real life, but its still cute (and my girl-knitting urge has been temporarily sated).

Delicious deliveries

2011-03-16T10:46:00.002Z

In my efforts to avoid going to the supermarket with two small children, we have begun ordering veg boxes. It has turned out to be good fun and definately perked up my interest in food. I don't know about anyone else, but I seem to get into ruts with cooking - I suddenly notice that I have cooked the same five meals with minor variations for months. Usually I've tried to deal with this by using new cookbooks, but this time the veg box has done it for me. We still struggle to use up a whole cabbage every week, and we clearly eat less carrots than other people, but surprises like the red kale above have been fun and usually delicious.

One of the side effects of having a box of fruit and veg delivered every week that you don't specifically choose is that meals need to be planned a bit more. I really dislike the idea of scheduling meals - what if I don't want to cook that thing on that day (or eat it)? So instead I have come up with a system where I write down at least eight meals that could be made with the ingredients I've bought for the week, and then we cook from that. I love this new system - so often, the major problem I have is deciding what to cook - now half the work is done for me, and I really enjoy the time when I sit and go through books and blogs deciding what to put on the list.

Good mornings

2011-03-04T12:10:00.002Z

I love pancakes for breakfast, especially good, big, fluffy buttermilk pancakes. But recently, I had some buttermilk that needed to be used and no great desire to eat pancakes (I know, I must have been ill). However, in my favourite cookbook (this one by Rachel Allen), just a page or two on from the pancake recipe was one for rhubarb muffins with buttermilk. They were quick to whip up (with pear instead of rhubarb) and so delicious. And of course what boy doesn't love cake for breakfast?

Going Dotty

2011-03-01T16:16:00.004Z

I finally finished the baby quilt I started sometime towards the end of last year. The front piecing only took an afternoon, as did the back. The binding took considerably longer as I decided I wanted thick binding with mitred corners, and of course I made every mistake I could. But it was finally finished, and I quilted using my new walking foot (which is sensational, by the way).

I'm really happy with how it turned out - its a very long time since I made a quilt, and the first time to make one only on the machine. We haven't stopped using it - as a blanket, toy, playmat and draught stopper. It has polyester batting (I had a piece this size in my stash, and only smaller pieces of cotton/bamboo), which is fine for this purpose as it is nice and light and squishy.

Top: Kaffe Fasset Spots (using this pack from Cotton Patch)

Bottom: Amy Butler Full Moon Polka Dot (from various sources, but binding in Tangerine is from Emma Garry Fabrics).

Quilting: purely for my own notes, I used Presencia Thread Finca 60/3 in light grey (352).

Yes Way!

2011-03-01T13:52:00.004Z

Something unbelievable happened this morning. I opened my inbox, and there was an email from Made by Rae, saying I had won the fabricworm giveaway run on her blog the other week! It is a brilliant prize - 3 yards of fabric from one of two collections - I chose some from the Beach Mod collection (including the cute Ukeleles above), and I'm so excited! Summer clothes for the boys have been playing on the edges of my mind lately (although I'm still sewing winter weight trousers), and this has just inspired me even more to get thinking of shorts, shirts and shortalls! Woo hoo! Thanks Rae and Cynthia!

Delicious things

2011-02-27T12:53:00.002Z

Over Christmas, I started making panettone in the bread machine, using this recipe. It is fantastic. While you do need to leave a good 4.5 hours or so from starting to eating, it is very minimally demanding during this time and makes your house smell gorgeous. It is now part of our regular 'cake' schedule, and is particularly good for when you really have eaten too many cakes and need something a little lighter, or that lasts a few more days, or for breakfast. It also makes wicked bread and butter pudding. The picture is a bit sad, but I never seem to remember to take photos whilst it is still around - somehow I get distracted by the eating :)

Rainy days

2011-02-24T12:06:00.002Z

More than one rainy day requires a little thought and excitement. Turns out making playdough is a mornings worth of fun: cooking, playing then washing up. Most excellent.

Moving on (3)

2011-02-12T12:04:00.001Z

And the snowdrops:

Moving on (2)

2011-02-11T11:59:00.000Z

Flowers in the garden too.

Moving in to a new house has the added delight of discovering a new garden. In older UK houses this often means discovering just how many bulbs are in the garden. Luckily, this house is no exception - in addition to very old, established (and long-neglected) rose beds and a stonking rhubarb patch, there are huge swathes of bulbs now popping up. The garden is currently bisected with a great patch of crocuses and snowdrops under the central apple tree. Its hard to get a good shot of the thing in its entireity (maybe if the sun comes out this week), but here are some close-ups. Today, the crocuses.

Moving on (1)

2011-02-10T11:54:00.002Z

Signs that we are steadily moving on through winter towards the glory of an English spring...I have been looking at these for a week, gradually changing from red buds to golden tipped goblets. I love their wayward leaves too. A beautiful surprise present - thanks S!

Joint efforts

2011-02-01T16:39:00.004Z

So while my mum was here, we decided to knit B a new jumper, as he was rapidly growing out of his other handknits and it was freezing! I chose the Master Charles jumper (rav link), in most excellent red Rowan Pure Wool Aran.

We knit size two, with slightly longer sleeves, and it fits just fine. It looks 'very smart' (in B's words) and was a quick knit thanks to aran weight yarn (and two knitters!). And I love that front cable panel.

Gifted (1)

2011-01-31T08:36:00.000Z

Baby F was lucky enough to receive some gorgeous gifts, includings some beautiful handmade things. This lovely jacket is from Esmerelda. The picture really doesn't do the colour justice - it is a lovely variegated forget-me-not blue. Thank you, E - it is truly gorgeous, and gets lots of comments when we go out! And thanks for coming to visit on your hectic UK visit :)

This baby is growing so fast, none of these baby handknits look like they will fit for long, but the weather is ensuring we are getting to make the most of them while we can!

Snuggypants

2011-01-29T09:05:00.000Z

Speaking of sewing, I managed a little before F was born. These are some trousers for the new boy - snuggly and warm, made from a felted men's vest I got at the charity shop, using an Ottobre pattern. They were meant to have the intact bindings as cuffs, but I cut the pieces out wrongly. In the end they worked out fine though - they are a bit high-waisted, but that is useful for a cloth nappied baby in winter - everything is kept nice and warm. Also, the stripes in the gusset match at the back, but not the front. I still love them though - he feels a bit like a teddy bear in them!

Covetousness

2011-01-27T21:08:00.002Z

If you sew, and you have little ones, you have probably heard of Oliver + S. They do lovely patterns. And now they have a book coming out - Oliver + S Little Things to Sew. I am very much coveting it...so much so, that I might just have to buy it! These things are almost always 'girl' pattern heavy, but even so, it looks very sweet. There is a trailer here and some info here

PS Happy Australia Day for yesterday - hope you saw some sunshine/ate some anzacs/drank some good Aussie red in celebration (or all three!)

Christmas update

2011-01-27T12:21:00.000Z

I know, I'm miles behind the times, but I have an excuse! Anyway, this is a quick post mostly for myself to remind me about Christmas cake next year :) In 2010 I made a Christmas cake from Delia's recipe (see blog post here). I fed it and petted it and the day my mum turned up, we cut it (16th Dec). The three of us managed to eat it over almost exactly a month (S ate the last bit on 17th Jan). It was very nice - more boozy and a bit more crumbly than Mum's melt & mix fruit cake recipe (my usual). I would definately eat it again, and it was pretty easy to make - but not the pinnacle of Christmas cakes for me.

Made with real gorilla's chest

2011-01-25T12:08:00.000Z

Before I went on maternity leave, I started B a vest. It was autumn, and I figured it would be useful. I used my standard vest pattern (Drops b17-9 sleeveless top, Ravelry link here), made up some colourwork and used some yarn I got on special (Sublime Organic Merino DK). The yarn is a single, very soft and in very pretty colours. Despite growing to hate knitting this (thus the looong time it took to finish it), it turned out pretty nicely, and fits B well. The picture above is after two washes and one de-pill. It has sort of become a tunic vest - it's grown widthways quite a bit (luckily it was already pretty long, so it will now fit next winter as well as this one!), and the yarn has felted somewhat. I wash the kid's woolens on a wool wash in my machine and then line dry - if they can't handle this then they tend not to get worn. I'm a bit miffed that I put so much time into knitting this with yarn that I wasn't sure about, because I don't feel this is going to wear very well at all. My verdict: as usual I love this pattern, and think vests are the bee's knees for keeping boys snug, but will probably get rid of the rest of this yarn now.

Christmas Dress

2011-01-23T12:00:00.000Z

I didn't do much crafting for Christmas this year, what with babies and two year olds and work and most family being in hotter climes. I did make one dress, for my niece G. It was a crazy day, sitting and sewing a sundress in the freezing fog (you can see some of the fog on the bushes behind the dress). But it is a great pattern, super easy and quick, and if I could just get the tension right on my machine then the shirring would be excellent fun! I'm slightly tempted to make one for me for the summer...although I don't think I can pull off red gingham anymore.

Pattern: Heather Ross' Smocked Sundress (you can find it either in her Weekend Sewing book or at Martha Stewart's website ).

Fabric: I have no idea where this came from, but I obviously bought quite a bit of it - I've used it for lots of things now. The ric rac is from the V&A.

Gratuitous freezing fog picture from the same day.

New Year, New Things

2011-01-21T19:34:00.004Z

So the new year bought us a new family member. He is wonderful and gorgeous, and I'm having a lovely time swapping him through the handknits both generously gifted by various talented folk and handed down from B.

Bright spots

2010-12-19T12:19:00.000Z

I have one cyclamen on my windowsill at the moment. I look past it out the window when we eat meals, or when I work at the dining room table. Often, its one of the few bright things in my field of view, and I'm enjoying it so much. I'm also enjoying the last of the apples, now on the ground and being devoured by a motley flock of birds every day. Most days we have 15 or 20 birds in the garden at any time, gradually making their way through the last of the crop.

Christmas cheer

2010-12-16T17:11:00.003Z

The sloe gin is bottled. The gift bags have been made. The shortbread has been baked (and eaten!), and tomorrow I think we'll cut the Christmas cake. What a most excellent time of year.

I bulk bought the bags for the wedding - treat bags for our very little guests - and had some left over, so a wee scrap of ribbon and hand printed labels (not by me!) made them a bit more festive. I really love how they came out. The ribbon and labels are from Flash in the Pan - a pop-up shop in Summertown at the moment. Very much worth checking out - lovely lovely stuff in there!
The sloe gin is not destined for gift bags - it is destined for a years eeking out, its such lovely stuff. It is quite a light colour this year, I think my sloe-piercing was less than thorough. But it still tastes divine.

pride and falls and so forth

2010-11-26T17:31:00.004Z

Yes, I promised pics of newly spruced kids rooms. And evidence of this nesting that I've apparently been doing. But really, all I have to show for the last two weeks is some thermal backing on our downstairs curtains (not inspiring at all but most wonderful in keeping us just a little warmer during this first chill), and a chest infection (and at over 35 weeks I really don't have the lung capacity to spare). Its been a week of colds & 'flu and I've really had enough of it. So I've submitted to the magic of antibiotics in the hope of still eeking out a few weeks of pleasure with my gorgeous and entertaining two year old and a few days of calmness and creativity for me. Fingers crossed!

And there was

2010-10-29T16:26:00.002+01:00

So yes, if you were wondering, I've started nesting. 32 weeks pregnant, and I have just spent two days on annual leave tethered to my sewing maching. There are a few things to show off, but the one I have pics of is this:

We just couldn't find a lightshade we liked, so I made one. I have a small stash of this Mairo fabric from the wonderful Northlight, and a few cushions purchased from them too, and the plan is that this is the 'theme' fabric for our lounge. Anyway, the kit was from Duffy London and was super-easy and quick to make. You can use it as a lampshade too. Thanks to the lovely slubby linen, the lampshade looks best in the evening, with the light shining through, although this was a bit tricky to capture - you get the idea! Next - turning our little boy's room into a little boys room, not a room with a cot and some boxes in it.

Christmas come early

2010-10-13T12:00:00.000+01:00

So this year, I seem to be ludicrously early on the Christmas front. I might have forgotten all sorts of important dates throughout the year (sorry again, mum!) and been writing February when it was actually April, but suddenly its October and I'm on the ball. Admittedly, I do have good motivation - my mum will be here for Christmas, as will a new baby :) So I'm doing things while I have the time, assuming that things will just get busier.
So cake is done - Delia's recipe, which seems to be the UK standard. And I was getting ready to make fruit mince (S likes the odd mince pie) but my supermarket didn't have any veg suet. For 3 weeks. In the meantime, I got the River Cottage book on preserves out of the library, and there was a recipe for fruit mince without suet, but with fresh plums and apples. I happened to have some plums in the freezer that needed to be used to make way for more substantial fare, so I gave it a go. The stuff is delicious. I'm not a huge fan of fruit mince - too sweet and cloying. But this is lovely and fruity. I'm just annoyed now that I only made a half batch (thats how many plums I had)!

Normande

2010-10-11T21:03:00.004+01:00

We recently spent most of a week in the lovely town of Barneville, on the Normandy coast. It was sunny, warm and generally delightful. We visited the beach each day - and the boulangerie! B managed to turn up to our accommodation covered in croissant crumbs, which set the tone for the remainder of the holiday. The beach was what I think beaches should be - enormous, empty, windswept, with shells and seaweed and stuff for beachcombing. But the tides were something else - when the tide went out, it went out for miles.

We became market groupies and visited towns according to when their markets were running. We also visited a fantastic family run calvados & cidre business, ate lots of seafood (especially mussels) and had a nap nearly every day. The perfect holiday!

Quintessence

2010-10-03T20:24:00.002+01:00

Its quince time here in the UK. I've managed to get hold of a few enormous beauties while on holiday in France, and a bag of lovely little gems from a local tree. I cooked four of these tonight using this recipe from Nigel Slater. I have eaten a lot of quince in my time - it is one of my favourite fruits - and I have to say that I think this recipe has resulted in the most concentrated quince taste (and also the most beautiful colour). I did overcook at both stages, and it was still lovely.
So, if you're in the UK, go find some quinces. Or if you have a tree, let me know :) If you're not in the UK, you'll just have to be envious!

new acquisitions

2010-09-05T13:30:00.004+01:00

This arrived in the post this week. I love the colours, and that it is handmade. There are a few little wear marks, and it has very little batting, but I'm very happy with my new acquisition! It will most definately do whilst life is too busy to make my own double bed sized quilts :)

Believe me

2010-08-22T12:15:00.000+01:00

Knitting! I know, incredible. This is Meret, in Lang SilkDream in charcoal (a gorgeous yarn gifted to me in a swap by the lovely Jinnee, all the way from Switzerland).

And some sewing from a few weeks (months?) ago - a skirt from an old 70's pattern and a top from a new Simplicity pattern, both in Amy Butler fabrics. Although I love the Coriander fabric of the skirt, turns out I don't wear white-based skirts much. Had you asked me this beforehand, I would have agreed, but I just didn't think. Still, it is nice. The top is huge, but I'm growing into it :)

Now I'm off to find out who turned the date stamp on the camera...

Last days of summer

2010-08-19T12:10:00.000+01:00

That time of year is here...one of picking, freezing, preserving, arguing about how much fruit is in the freezer as a proportion of overall freezer content, bottling, eating and generally being obsessive about hedgerows and farm shops. Loving it.

The berries were picked last weekend, and turned into blackberry & apple crumble (with our new apples) and blackberry & apple crumble cake (yep, doubling down there, but they were both delicious). The raspberry jam is on my extremely successful and yummy white sourdough, which is my other pride and joy. I have to say that, to my mind, there is little better in this world than fresh homemade bread, good butter and new raspberry jam. Although a little clotted cream could squeeze its way in, I reckon.

Rainy Tuesday delights

2010-08-17T11:59:00.003+01:00

So what to do on a rainy Tuesday morning in Oxford? Well, my suggestion would be to pop into town early to nab an easy park, wander through the back lanes and past the colleges to the High St. (make sure to stickybeak in every possible door and window), nip into Northlight to do a little essential shopping*, duck across the road to Toast to buy up on a few maternity-suitable trans-seasonal items*, back over the road to the Vaults for delicious coffee, cake and babycino for the boy (who will behave delightfully and entertain all those in the vicinity), then home to a newly cleaned house before the rain comes down, with a child who goes directly to sleep leaving you to catch up on reading some blogs.

Couldn't have scripted it better. Hope you are having a lovely Tuesday morning too.

*there is nothing essential in Northlight, it is all entirely and deliciously frivolous. How I love design focused shops.
*how I would dearly love to curl up on their big couch and knit and drink coffee and watch people come in and out, but I'm not sure they'd be up for it.

Buckwheat Blinis

2010-08-06T11:44:00.002+01:00

S bought some buckwheat flour last time he was at the supermarket. Voila - blinis for breakfast. Yum. Served with vanilla poached peaches.

absence

2010-07-31T17:21:00.003+01:00

Sometimes, even when you really want to be in somewhere , its harder to get out than you expect (this apparently includes laundry hampers). We've moved. Today we (finally) handed over the keys to the old house, which means we can stop finding more things to do to make it cleaner/tidier, and start properly unpacking the new house. I love the new house (although its a long way from our friends over the road/next door/round the corner - well, not that long, 6 minutes in the car!), it is light and has a big empty-canvas garden and is quiet. B loves it too - he runs and runs. So as soon as I find the cable to link the camera to the computer, there might be pictures. But to be honest, very little knitting or sewing. Quite a lot of jam though...

Norwegian Wood

2010-07-04T20:19:00.002+01:00

We've been on a jaunt to Norway the last week. It was very very beautiful, and B was delighted to travel on planes, trains, boats, buses and all manner of transports. He also led by example in attaining ultimate relaxation.

New but vintage

2010-06-22T12:24:00.004+01:00

So as previously stated, I bought some fabric at the V&A exhibition, some of which became a dress for my niece. Some became a dress for another girl-baby-to-be:

Same pattern, this time in 'Coral' with same lining. Excellently cute pattern.

I had a day off yesterday, again with both boys busy at work/nursery, so spent the day gardening/sewing/preserving artichokes. I finished this:

which is the shirt from Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing, in fabric by Michael Miller. And yes, he does now have matching shirt & shorts :) Poor child. I have to say, I didn't much enjoy sewing the shirt and it isn't especially tidy around the collar, but it does look fantastic on, especially now that summer is about again.

The first free Friday

2010-06-20T20:57:00.004+01:00

Its a long story, but B has had two Fridays at nursery (when he is usually home with me), meaning I had two Fridays to myself! Luxurious. The first Friday, I went to the V&A quilt exhibition, which was outstanding. I got a bit teary at the Changi quilt and was wonderfully surprised to see the transportation quilt at the very end. I have seen this quilt before, and it is a wonderful record of the women transported from London to Van Diemen's Land. This quilt reminds me of how lucky I am that I can choose to move between these two places as I wish, not as someone else commands.

Anyway, I bought some of their lovely fabric at the end, some of which ended up as this:

The pattern is the Itty Bitty Baby Dress from Made by Rae. Its a great, free pattern and looks super cute. I also got the ric rac from V&A - they sell everything in their amazing shop! This is for my new niece in Western Australia - hopefully it gets to her while it still fits. Speaking of babies - we are expecting another one at the end of the year, which kind of explains the crying at the quilt exhibition and the current lack of knitting. It'll be back, I'm sure.

Long Shorts

2010-06-06T11:22:00.003+01:00

There has been less knitting than sewing going on here lately. For example - new shorts for B. (sorry about the first pic - I guess he's just movin to fast).

Based on a pattern from Ottobre, using Michael Miller's 'Zoology' print. I think these will last for some time - the elastic is too big (based on my guesswork rather than measuring) but hangs on thanks to cloth nappies :) My guess is by next summer they'll fit as regular shorts.

Deliciousness

2010-06-01T13:00:00.000+01:00

So in my long list of imaginary posts, there are several about food. Spring produce has reinspired me to cook more interesting things, and so there has been a list of new hits and revived favourites. So, my current faves:

Raspberry Shortcake (pictured above): Apparently this is called Louise cake in NZ. Whatever, it is delicious (even if this version is blackcurrant, not raspberry). It turns out I was a little overzealous in my jam stashing, so there is a little extra to use up at this end of the jamming year - this is the best use of it! This was one of my favourite cakes as a kid, and just one mouthful takes me straight back to childhood.

Asparagus pasta: I came up with this last year in an effort to use all of the asparagus I was buying, not wasting the ends. With asparagus season on us again, it has returned to the repertoire with vigour. Basically, you take your snapped-off ends, take the worst woodiness off them, pop them in the base of your steamer to boil. After 5 minutes add some peas, and put the rest of your asparagus in to steam. Take it all off when your good asparagus is cooked. Blend up the ends, peas, some oil, herbs (mint is nice, or basil) and maybe a squeeze of lemon. Stir your pasta through with this sauce and top with your asparagus. Doubling down on the old asparagus there, yummo. You can lighten the sauce with some creme fraiche too, if you like.

Pancakes: So I found some buttermilk and bought it to make the American pancakes from Rachel Allen's Home Cooking (a new acquisition). They are totally delicious. I'll never use my old recipe again.

Corn Bread: In an effort to use left-over buttermilk, I made cornbread - great for sunny Sunday lunch, and I took some to a neighbourhood barbeque too, went very well.

My other experiment at the moment is getting a sourdough starter going. It all seemed to be going well, but now it smells - well, fairly unpleasant. And its stopped bubbling so much too. But fingers crossed.

Times a changing

2010-05-31T17:23:00.007+01:00

So it turns out I haven't blogged since March. Which is in some ways surprising, both as I was sure I had posted more recently, but it turns out these were all imaginary posts, which are fairly common, and because in April & May we were back in Australia getting married. Which, as you can probably guess, took some small amount of time and organisation just prior to the event, and some celebrating just after. For those that couldn't be there, we had a fantastic day with glorious weather and lots of family and friends to celebrate with. These pictures give you and idea of what it (and I looked like). One of my favourite things of the day were the flowers - the florist (Cristina at Flower Flower) was absolutely brilliant and made something I love without me knowing what I wanted! And I love how they look on the cake my wonderful mum made.

Spring belle

2010-03-23T17:29:00.001Z

I am getting oodles of joy from the ongoing delights of my Golden Syrup tins. Remember them?

Highs and Lows

2010-03-08T17:30:00.003Z

There's been lots of highs lately...a great visit to Megan, a lovely visit from Katie & FB, a really good run with Jennie, Chinese takeaway with the neighbours, a trip to Woodstock farmer's market and sunshine on the weekend! There was also chocolate pudding (while nowhere near as nice looking as Laras, it was still tasty!), and anzacs - a little taste of home!

And some new knitting to go with the spring feeling - the colour in the pic doesn't do it justice, its a lovely spring green (RYC luxury cotton in Lettuce).

Unfortunately, after so many highs we are now in the midst of some lows, as baby is feeling poorly. Our washing machine is getting a good workout and I seem to have spent most of the day cajoling him to have a few mouthfuls of liquid, but hopefully he is now on the mend. And I have nothing but great things to say for the lovely nurse from NHS Direct that spent a good half hour talking to me this afternoon.

Grey Winter

2010-02-26T20:06:00.003Z

Maybe its that the English winter has finally worked its charm, but I seem to be wearing, knitting and coveting more and more grey at the moment. Off my needles in January was this lovely Drops cardigan/jacket. Its knit with Eskimo, a chunky Drops yarn thats really just a big single ply. Its cosy, chunky, and just a tiny bit prone to pilling. To be honest, I've hardly taken it off. It goes with nearly everything (except my new red coat - it would look great if only I could squeeze my giant smooshy grey arms into the svelt red sleeves!)

Theres more info here (Ravelry link). Excuse the squinty face - there was real, actual sunshine here - we dashed to the park to remind the baby that such stuff existed, and took advantage to take some pics (I think it took me longer to take photos than it did to knit this thing!).

Also on my grey list - a new grey scarf (left overs from this jacket), a cool grey poncho/cape/cardigan thing from St Martins (love their stuff) and participation in the great grey swap of gorgeousness (who could resist?!)

delicate

2010-02-25T17:18:00.002Z

Winter weekend warmers

2010-02-14T18:18:00.004Z

Delicious! I feel slightly like an Enid Blyton character, but fresh crumpets on a cold grey weekend are perfect (if slightly time consuming - note the crumpet 'pancakes' that occurred after I got a bit bored!).

Anticipation

2010-02-12T10:52:00.002Z

I can never bring myself to throw out these golden syrup tins, they are so lovely. At last - a use for them!

Baby sewing

2010-02-07T21:56:00.003Z

So it turns out that sewing for babies has all the benefits of knitting for babies (small projects, rapid satisfaction, minimal body shaping, able to indulge in all sorts of cuteness) and all the benefits of sewing (much quicker than knitting!). And thanks to Ottobre magazine I managed to finally sew something cute and wearable that fits (even over a big cloth nappy).

Pattern: Dala Hast dungarees, Spring 2009 Ottobre
Fabric: Petrol fine cord from Dots n Stripes and a little Amy Butler lovely spottiness (I think it is Full Moon dots from the Lotus collection).
I see some more of these on the horizon...! (PS check out my shoes! Yes, walking now!)

2009 in Review: Words

2010-01-17T08:31:00.002Z

So when I started this blog, I had an idea that it would be about words (books, mostly) and stitches (knitting, mostly). The stitches part worked out, but I rarely write about books. So when I thought about doing a bit of a review of 2009, one of the first things I wanted to talk about was books. I love reading, but I have a terrible memory for what I have read (particularly the name & author - I can remember the content pretty well), so hopefully this will serve as a reminder for me. And maybe suggest some new reads for you.
2009 was the year I really got into using the library. Brilliant. This means it was the first year of my life where I didn't do very much re-reading. Anyway, here are some of my favourite books that I read in 2009:

The Children's Book, A S Byatt: brilliant. Didn't want it to ever finish. A wonderful examination of the artifice that adults impose on children, and of a strange period of time. Includes very interesting discussions about the Arts and Crafts movement.

Outlander, Gil Adamson: Easy to read, great tale with a wonderful sense of place. Beautifully written.

Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley: My number one book of 2009. A re-telling of King Lear, set in modern rural America. She writes beautifully, and there was that great Shakespearean sense of dread as all inevitably collapses. I'm now reading Horse Heaven, another of hers, and while the topic is not something I'm especially interested in, she is a master of words.

Secret River, Kate Grenville: So close for number one - I can't stop thinking about this, even nearly a year on. Haunting, a brilliant portrayal of early Australian life.

Yummy Yucky, Leslie Patricelli: Fun book about all the things that are yummy and yucky. I love it as much as B does :)

Forty Signs of Rain; Fifty Degrees Below; Sixty Days and Counting, Kim Stanley Robinson: Nerdy trilogy about climate change and the impact on our way of life. As usual with KSR, the writing and characterisation are flimsy at times, but the ideas are great. I keep thinking 'why can't we just do that'....full of good, big ideas and a bit of hope.

so there are some of my top picks for 2009. I'd love to hear any of your top books that I could add to the list for 2010!

Ice Ice Baby

2010-01-07T08:31:00.001Z

Snow fun at our place.

Remembering October

2010-01-04T12:19:00.000Z

I just managed to get these pics from our camera (how lazy!), but I like how they remind me of the late autumn sunshine. And of all the delicious goodies in my cupboard.

Pants!

2010-01-03T16:10:00.003Z

I knit these in November, and while there are a few things I would change if I made them again (higher at the back to compensate for cloth-nappy bum, elastic in the waist), they have been incredibly useful in our currently chilly climes. As you can probably see, they have had a lot of use and are a bit the worse for wear already, but thats fine by me!

Pattern: Drops Pants in 2 threads (Ravelry link)

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, reclaimed from a failed blanket project :)

A view of Christmas

2010-01-02T16:29:00.003Z

Christmas: Isle of Wight with old friends and new friends. Yes, it was as much fun as it looked :)

Hope yours was too. Happy New Year

Celebrations!

2009-12-20T19:54:00.003Z

Oh dear....I didn't realise it was so long since my last post! Anyway, time for some celebrations!

1. I got my registration to practice in the UK! After all these years.....

2. Thanks to this, I was offered (& have accepted) a promotion

3. I have only 2 more days at work until a whole week off with friends & family & food. And knitting.

4. Rage Against the Machine made it to the UK Christmas Number 1!!! I now have a few copies of Killing in the Name of, but really, can you ever have too many? Anyway, yay for rebellion.

5. I have the cutest baby ever. No, really, just look at that bum :)

There has been lots of knitting, sewing, baking, etc. Just not lots of time. Hopefully I'll do some catch-up blogging soon.

Evenley Wood Garden

2009-11-05T14:28:00.001Z

Last weekend we visited Evenley Wood Garden for their Autumn Colour open days. True to their word, there was spectacular and sometimes surprising autumn colour:

And of course, plenty of leaves for little hands to play with.

I can't wait to see it in spring!

New Hat

2009-11-03T10:37:00.002Z

Another lovely Drops pattern with yet another fantastic name - b16-13 Hat in 2 threads.

This is the second of these I have knit in the same yarn (leftovers from the cardigan I knit Mr B just before he was born in Drops Alpaca). The first was a present for the lovely, new Arlo - I hope it is keeping him cosy!

It is a lovely pattern, so quick to knit in the 2 strands, and it has earflaps with lovely cords on the bottom that tie it securely to his head so that it stays on for up to a minute at a time. He seriously hates having his hat on - unless you are out and there are better things to think about.

I still think this is seriously cute. There may even be more of these in my future.

2009-11-01T14:58:00.004Z

A few weekends ago I went with my friend Caroline to Origin, the London Craft Fair, at Somerset House. Caroline had extolled the glory of Origin to me for a long time, and I was happy to find that she was right -it is a wonderful, interesting, inspiring and potentially expensive day out. I bought very little but came away with lots of ideas and thoughts.

My favourites:

Smith and Coates had some gorgeous baby and children's clothes from recycled jumpers, with sweet additions of handknit and crochet pockets and ornaments.

Jane Withers had a beautiful selection of hand and machine knit wares, with particularly gorgeous scarves. Yum.

Thornback and Peel had lovely handprinted fabrics - I bought some handprinted handkerchieves.

But I think the best bit was the people watching - the clothes! The hats! The shoes! To be in the company of so many stylish people....

Can't wait for next year!

Winter Woolies

2009-10-19T20:23:00.004+01:00

Ok, Autumn woolies. But it is getting colder and baby needs a new jumper:

This is Five Fruits (ravelry link) by the lovely Oxford-based Amanda. Its a great pattern, although I didn't manage the 'five fruits' style stripes. Instead, I diligently used up my left-over Debbie Bliss Cashmerino scraps, and some Sublime Angora Merino. It was lovely upon finishing, if a bit fluffy. Now its a big fluff distribution mechanism. It looks a bit pill-y and worn after only one wash, which is disappointing. In hindsight, the Sublime yarn should have been knit at a tighter gauge. However, it does look super-cute, will fit for a few months at least, and I learned a few new things (like the hem). And, my baby is now toasty warm on those chilly autumn mornings on the bus!

Autumn Harvest

2009-10-04T16:30:00.003+01:00

The allotment was pretty neglected this year, but we did manage a good harvest of borlotti beans. This is what has ripened and dried so far, and there looks like there will be more to come - good times!

To compensate for a pretty dismal effort in formal gardening, I've focused on hedgerow harvesting this year. Yesterday, we went out and found a bumper crop of haws, a last few blackberries and elderberries, horse chestnuts (only good to look at, but so pretty!), and sloes.

2009-09-27T19:46:00.004+01:00

Yet another jaunt away, this time to France - Brittany, Normandy and the Loire.

Mont St Michel, in the lovely misty sunshine. This place was a revelation, just spectacular.

The Loire chateaus were pretty impressive. This is Chenonceau, built over the Loire itself. There were beautiful floor tiles throughout Chenonceau, but I particularly liked these; they were very worn in the centre of the room, which I think really added to their charm. The Chenonceau kitchen, as it was in WWII, when used as a field hospital. The coal range was amazing, but difficult to photograph. The copperware just lit up the room - the room was full! Chambord - incredible architecture, including a central double spiral staircase. We spent the last night in Ver sur Mer, in Le Mas Normand, a gorgeous B& B. We had a little farm outbuilding, decorated so beautifully. The colours and fabrics were gorgeous - this is just a taste of the quilts on our bed.

After all that, we came home and had a party to celebrate the end of the harvest season with our friends in the late autumn sunshine. Everyone bought home grown or home made goodies, and we supplied home brewed refreshments - what more could you want! I certainly can't think of much :)

Put on your New Socks

2009-09-13T20:40:00.005+01:00

My internal musical soundtrack is becoming dominated by baby songs. Nonetheless, these socks are worth singing about. They took 18 months to finish, and I knitted three whole socks in the end (number two got unravelled to make number three after I knitted on the wrong size needles - pooh!). I love them - and I never thought that I would love coloured lacey socks! Yay for Hedera, yay for Natural Dye Studio yarn :)

And with the left-over yarn, cute little baby socks (although not for my baby, for a much smaller one!) - garter stripe socks.

Prague

2009-09-10T14:26:00.001+01:00

A few weeks ago, we went for a short jaunt to Prague. It was a bit spur of the moment, so I hadn't really thought about it much, but it really took me by surprise. Prague was so beautiful, and I really could have spent longer there.

kitchen productiveness

2009-09-08T19:45:00.001+01:00

This is the jam I have made in the past week:
There is blackberry (from hedgerows) & apple (from our tree) jelly, rhubarb (from our allotment) jam, crabapple jelly (some hedgerow, some from the pick-your-own farm shop) and damson jam (farm shop). Both jelly's needed a second boil to get them to set, but they are both delicious! I made rhubarb jam last year but didn't like it - too sweet. This year, I used less sugar but used the jam making sugar with pectin and it is beautifully tart. And the damson is a bit experimental - I haven't made it before, but it tastes lovely and rich. A nice addition to my jam cupboard :)

Baby B has begun to be fussy with his food. Not the tastes - he'll eat almost anything tastewise - but textures. And also spoons. Apparently, all he wants to eat are bread-like foods that he can eat with his fingers. And yoghurt (from a spoon). So I have been testing my creative skills on a range of finger-foods that are capable of holding healthy, nutritious ingredients. So far, success with omelettes and now muffins. Maybe frittata? Tortilla? Anyway, I better think quick - these muffins were a bit too successful - baby ate 2 for dinner and the adults of the house seem to have enjoyed them as well :) They have corn, peas, courgette & tomatoes in a pretty standard muffin base (with lots of eggs & dairy in it) - yummo!

My baby is sooooo sophisticated

2009-09-06T17:50:00.005+01:00

I think I probably say this every time I knit a baby garment.....but I love this pattern! It is so very cute, and knits up in no time, thanks to aran yarn, 5mm needles and seamless construction. It is Baby Sophisticate in New Lanark Aran (I think it is the Donegal Silk Tweed in Cobalt - the lovely Esmerelda gifted this to me when she left these shores for sunnier climes). Its almost too small for him (doh!) but it fits for the moment, and its so quick and easy I'm tempted to get straight in there and make another!

I did EZ-style increases (back loop method) for the raglan increases (as advised by the pattern), and they look very nice. The hedgehog buttons (in case you can't identify them - it was hard to get B to sit still at this point!) are too cute! I have to admit - they aren't really sophisticated buttons but then, I don't really think that Mr B looks all that sophisticated in this. It might be the tweed...he looks like he should be sitting in a chesterfield by the fire with a snifter of his favourite tipple. But eminantly cute, nonetheless.

Baltic beauties: The sequel

2009-09-01T12:41:00.002+01:00

Ok, don't forget Tallinn! Man, this is the place for history. Our first lunch was in a medieval merchants house with the whole medival thing going - earthenware crockery, ye olde language, staff in costume. The old town was amazingly well preserved, but the new town was very generic. Anyway, the old town is a bit maze-like, and there were some lovely little shops hidden away. There were a number of shops/stalls advertising knits or handknits, but while they might have been traditional in their colourwork, they were clearly machine knits. Some were very nice (S bought some lovely flip-top mittens with a flip-top thumb as well), but they weren't what I was after. Then I saw a shop that looked more promising, and there were these gorgeous things:

The top pair are knit flat and seamed (you can see the seam in the top one), which I think means that the colourwork was knit flat, then seamed, then a heel and toe added on. Maybe? Anyway, they are lovely! Just a bit too big, but I had to have them (they were the only pair).

The second pair I didn't do a good job of photographing - the lacework is lovely, and more prominent. But I love the little cuffs! They had these in this yarn, and in a similar yarn with dog hair knitted into it! I think it was knitted in rather than spun in, from what I could see.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to a cosy winter wearing some of my favourite souvenirs!

Baltic beauties

2009-08-30T17:20:00.004+01:00

So, a post or so ago I mentioned that we'd been away. Most excellently for us, two of the major conferences in my field were in Helsinki and Tallinn this year and even more excellently, I had some research accepted for presentation and absolutely excellently, the company agreed to fund my trip. Which meant a nice long visit to two places that we hadn't been but were most definately on my list, at a pretty reasonable price. While much of my break was taken up with work-related business, they were both excellent conferences and I was intellectually refreshed and professionally inspired, which is really what these things are all about in my opinion. And networking, which I did pretty well (for me).
So anyway, Helsinki:
Gorgeous; clean; design and function; craft and creativity; the cleanest port I have ever seen; salmon. I managed to find a great yarn store called Oy Menita Ab (I think!), on Korkeavuorenkatu 20, in the city. They didn't speak much English, but who cares- they had lovely yarn displayed in such a beautiful way. There must have been every colourway of the Drops Alpaca and some other Drops yarns, Rowan yarns and some beautiful Finnish yarns. I bought two balls of Pirkanmaan yarn in beautiful blues. At the time, I had baby in mind, but now its home I think it might have to be some colourwork for me - maybe Selbu Modern?

Down at the waterfront there was a daily market with good food (mostly), and crafts (some junk, but mostly good stuff) - woodwork, leatherwork (mostly reindeer) and knitting. Tables covered in bright, handknit socks (for about 12 euros a pair). Lots of people knitting (even if they were selling other things). A lady with gorgeous handwoven things (out of my budget but so beautiful). The stalls changed each day - just after I ran over to the yarn shop in my lunch break, I saw a stall with spectacular hand-dyed yarn in it. Unfortunately, I decided I had used up my yarn allowance, but took a card. The lovely stall holder told me that his wife dyed the yarn with natural dyes, and she had an online shop and would ship to the UK. Her website is http://www.riihivilla.com/, and it really is worth checking out. She has the most gorgeous mitten kits - if I was a mitten wearer (or knew one!) I would have bought one there and then!

Baby yo-yo

2009-08-16T21:01:00.004+01:00

Before we went away, I made Baby B a Froeball, designed by the lovely Katie. It was quick and easy to make (although I didn't stuff mine hard enough), and I have to say it is the best travelling toy! Great for a teething boy, lots of lovely scratchy wool to chew on. You can tie it onto your pusher/highchair/airplane seat. You can wave it around and throw it across a hotel room with minimal damage. It has a long tail perfect for practicing fine motor control. I highly recommend, and I have premonitions of many more of these coming off my needles.

Away

2009-08-12T19:52:00.002+01:00

We've been away.

It was excellent. It was sunny. It was a combination of work and play, but still fun. There was yarn and knitting (not by me). I'll tell you more when life calms down a bit.

Let me eat cake

2009-07-27T08:00:00.000+01:00

I love cake. I make a lot of cakes, and I have to own up to eating my share of them. I prefer homemade cake to bought cake, which makes it easier to keep tabs on my cake habit. While I was on maternity leave, my sweet tooth increased, and the caking making grew to match. I found a couple of good new recipes that fitted my requirements for a general, everyday cake: not too expensive, not too much butter or eggs, preferably some fruit & quick to make. This one is the king of cheap, easy cakes. You can whip it up when someone drops around for a cup of tea (seriously, if you pretend you are a slow tea maker then you really can get it in the oven while they think you are making a pot), and have fresh cake in half an hour. Impressive. Its definately an eat on the day cake, although it makes a good pudding too, heated up with a little icecream. I always intend to make a caramelly sauce for it, but I never do and it doesn't seem to matter! I have no idea where the recipe came from, but here it is:
put 150g of chopped dates & 25g butter in a large bowl (to be super quick, buy the prechopped dates). Pour over 1c of boiling water, & wait until the butter has melted. Mix in 2 tbspn golden syrup, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp bicarb soda, 1 tsp vanilla essence & 2 cup SR flour. Stir until combined. Pour into a prepared tin & bake 30 - 35 min.
Thats it.
My suggestion is get your tin ready & oven hot first as the bicarb reacts quickly and starts making lots of lovely air bubbles, so you don't want to be mucking around at the end. Mmmmm.
I think I need to go make some cake.....

Bark

2009-07-21T20:28:00.000+01:00

Birch, Yew, Pachypodium. All spotted at Oxford Botanical Gardens.

Bellissimo Sapone

2009-07-19T14:19:00.003+01:00

I don't really like soap. Its nice enough, but I don't use it on my body, and prefer handwash to wash my hands with (I make my own with aqueous cream & essential oils. Bargainous & moisturising). However, I luuurve this soap. I first tried it in Tuscany when we were staying with friends in a villa for a week. And I was sadly resigned to never being able to buy any, until I discovered a large stash at the Oxford Botanical Gardens store!

Nesti Dante soap.

It is deliciously scented, has beautiful wrappers, and comes in extra large, chunky blocks. And it feels beautiful when you use it. I'm not sure why it warrants a blog post, except to share my happiness at having found some, and the little bit of joy I get every time my hands are dirty in the kitchen. Small pleasures.

Best of the Weekend

2009-07-12T16:46:00.009+01:00

Best of the allotment:

First pickings of curly kale with sea salt and delicious olive oil purchased this time last year in Baena, Spain.

Best time spent:

One hour of time this weekend = many delicious mornings of blackcurrant jelly on toast

Best hat:

Yes, its a 3month size squeezed onto an 8 month noggin for the purposes of photos, but its still cute. More about it here (Ravelry link). Pattern from Drops design

Best view:

This has been my view of the baby for most of today*. He's finally got the hang of it (and fast!) Right now, though, he's trying to catch the motes floating about in the sun through the window.

*not actually true. He also did lots of crawling towards me.

Edit: unfortunately, I can't claim the pants, they were a lovely (shopbought) gift. But they could easily be knitted (these ones are in cotton). I do love how the stripes match up though!!

Fuschia fairies

2009-07-04T09:40:00.004+01:00

Gardening is different in England. Its colder, there's less light for much of the year, and more for some of the year than I'm used to. Plants that I think of as perennial turn out to be annuals or biannuals. It makes for adventurous times in the garden. Last year, I had good fun growing sweet peas in pots. This year, I thought I would try some different potted colour.

When I was small, I had a book about a fuschia fairy - the child 'popped' the fuschia bud (as they are so tempting to do!) and the fairy fell out as she wasn't quite ready. She played with the child while her wings dried off and she flew away. My mum had (and possibly still has) a large fuschia with tiny pink flowers, and I loved to pop them. I always felt a delicious combination of fear and hope that I would disturb a fairy! I have really enjoyed the four that I've grown this year, although they are quite small as plants. They don't have the wow factor or the scent of the sweet peas, but they are very pretty. One of them is a trailing variety, but I didn't have a hanging basket so it isn't shown to best potential.

This is the highlight of my garden though - my neighbours garden! Our back gardens aren't fenced off, so while we take responsibility for looking after our own patches, we get the benefit of feeling like we have a much larger garden and enjoying each other's gardening successes (we got the better deal this year!)

UK Ravelry Day the first (1)

2009-06-28T12:12:00.000+01:00

Somewhat after the fact:
I went to UK Ravelry day in Coventry with my friends Caroline and Katie a few weekends ago. It was a rainy old day but I had a fantastic time - it was a lovely, friendly, interesting occasion. The first thing I did was some shopping (my afternoon was pretty full with other events so I got in early, but more on those later). So - the haul!
Jamieson & Smith 2-ply jumper weight in lovely pinky-grey. Enough to make a smallish jumper/vest or something.
Jamieson & Smith sampler pack of Shetland - there was more cream, but I've already spun that up (although my plying was a bit terrible). The plan is to try & spin it up in a consistent weight so I can do a wee bit of colourwork with it. Might be a pretty lofty dream...!

Old Maiden Aunt black Shetland and blue tussah silk. Gorgeous gorgeous stuff - saving this for when I am a better spinner :) This photo does not do it justice - go see Jared Flood's website for better pictures (in a different colourway).

Old Maiden Aunt Massam wool in Storm & Sky colourway. Beeeeautiful. I'm starting to get the hang of imagining what dyed fibre might look like as yarn, but this is so much more subtle and gorgeous than I expected. I am very proud!

And this is my new drop spindle, from Kevin at Whorl drop spindles. Its made of Tambootie elm, which rolls of the tongue about as easily as this things spins.
Oh, by the way - I've started spinning :)

Preservation

2009-06-24T12:19:00.000+01:00

I really love cooking jams, jellies, pickles and so on, and I'm hoping to expand this a bit more this year. So, first off the rank, I turned these:

into these:

The lovely little artichokes came from the Stanton St John pick your own farm (although I didn't pick my own, I got them from the shop). The recipe is from here, except I only used half a litre of wine as this seemed plenty to cook the artichokes. I'll let you know how they taste in a week or so.