Festive making & baking

Christmas already seems so long ago that it feels strange to still be looking back. However, I wanted to show you what I'd been up to before continuing to move forward with the new year.

One of the things I most enjoyed over the Christmas break was having time to spend making and baking. The luxury of actually being able to plan to do some crafting and to do it at a leisurely pace, rather than squeezing it into increasingly fewer spare moments. If I was to make another resolution for 2014, it would be to find more of that kind of time rather than trying to cram in as much as possible. I really felt much better for slowing down, resting and feeding my creative side. Luckily, I don't make resolutions though because it would already have been broken.

But anyway, what making and baking did I get up to?

Starry lebkuchen biscuits with some dough I found lurking at the back of the freezer (and it was no worse from having been there since the previous year!).

I also ventured into baking with yeast for the first time with an apricot, chocolate and cardamom panettone. How exciting is it watching bread rise?! Why have I never tried this before? Bread making is definitely something I'll be coming back to when I can plan an 'at home' day.

The panettone should probably have been smaller and taller but I only realised at the last minute that I had the wrong size tin. Not that it made any difference to the taste. We ate it toasted for breakfast on Christmas morning with shop-bought Christmas tree crumpets and starry waffles.

This was a tree of a different kind made from a polystyrene cone. As you can see from the photos, I cut circles of Christmas fabrics with pinking shears and pinned them in layers to cover the cone. The idea came from the free Cloth, Paper, Scissors e-newsletter.

I also worked on my Father Christmas cross stitch which, I'm embarrassed to admit, has been on the go at least 5 years. All that remains to do is the outline stitching and more of the swirly snow. I've been in two minds whether to crack on and finish it or whether to keep it as a project to pull out each Christmas. I have another cross stitch project in mind though and I'm not sure if I have another frame so it looks like it will have to be finished.

No photos for this one but I've been working on my quilt too, transferring rectangles from piles of unsewn to sewn - a slow but therapeutic process.

And I wasn't the only one crafting for Christmas. Chickpea made this beautiful decopatch treasure chest as a gift for a friend. I was so proud of her: she worked so hard and really took time over all the details. Watching her enjoy crafting was one of my highlights of last year and something I love to encourage. This year, therefore, I'm going to continue being a craftlete, trying different crafts and hopefully finding others which she'll enjoy.

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Thanks for the comments about the cookery book challenge. I was ridiculously excited making my first draw this week, quivering with anticipation of which of my lovely books I'd be using. Was I still excited afterwards? Well, you'll have to wait until my first update to find out :)

Crochet-a-long: washcloth

I haven't picked up my crochet hook in a while. In truth, I think I prefer knitting - two implements seem much easier than one! However, while I was casting around for ideas for a Christmas present for my friend, I saw the lovely washcloths that Gillian had made and her plans to make up a pampering basket.

I really liked the idea of making up a box of bits and pieces and decided to create a 'Saturday Night In Tin'. First to go in would be the washcloth. I had a hunt around the internet and came across a pattern from Petals to Picots. Though it's listed as a kitchen dishcloth, I really liked the interesting textured pattern and, as one cloth seems pretty much like any other, that's the one I chose to make.

The green yarn is Rowan handknit cotton (shade 352) and the grey is Debbie Bliss ecobaby (shade 14030). Funnily enough, both were bought to make my Attic24 little birdie.

It was so quick and easy to make - only a couple of hours from start to finish. The edging could be neater and I've just realised the first photo shows the 'wrong' side - ho hum. Still, I'm very happy with it and it's lovely and soft to touch. I think I'll be making one for myself at some point.

So, what else is going in the Tin? I'd like to say more handmade Home Jules goodies but time is just too short. The soaps were handmade by someone else though, does that count? The washcloth and soap seemed to suggest a long, hot bath, so I also added a box of scented tealights. And finally, for sofa snuggling later, a DVD and a bag of posh popcorn.

It was great fun choosing all the different elements and the added bonus of finally doing some crochet is that I can join in with Marianne and Chrissie's weekly Bloomin' Crochet-a-long, even if only for a week.

Lastly but by no means leastly, thank you all so very much for the lovely comments on my Scavenger Hunt post. xx

Lemon bakewell & 'the package'

When I opened the Christmas present from my friend, I felt completely overwhelmed by her generosity. She had bought us a £50 theatre voucher from the Gift for Two range that you find in high street stores. For someone who loves theatre, this was the perfect gift. Last weekend, Chickpea and I excitedly looked through the list of shows at the eligible theatres, picked out our favourite, the date and even the seats. I then phoned the special hotline number to book it. First obstacle, the show was not part of 'the package'. They sent us a list and it became apparent that only a small selection of  shows was part of 'the package'. Not only that but (second obstacle) only a small selection of dates for each show was part of 'the package', hardly any of them on a weekend. The final obstacle came when, having finally managed to decide on a show from the limited selection and on a date when I could get a day off work, we couldn't even have the seats I'd picked out as, you guessed it, they were not part of this pesky package!

I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time seeing The Mousetrap in Liverpool in April. However, it could have been a much less frustrating experience. If you're thinking of buying one of these gifts, please just be aware of its limitations.  

Anyway, after these frustrations, what else was there to do but bake cakes? With most of the jar of lemon curd left over from the pancakes, I decided to make lemon bakewell tart. The recipe doesn't give the ingredients for the pastry so I had to find another source and ended up using the one in The Great British Bake Off: How to Bake. I was clearly having one of those days though as the pastry didn't go according to plan and I just couldn't get it to roll out large enough to fit my rectangular tin without cracking. Aagh!

After a short break for foot stamping and cursing a rethink, I substituted a smaller square tin. However, I still had lots of pastry left so decided to make individual tarts like those in the Bake Off book. I used my largest cookie cutter to make circles, and rolled them out a little bit more so they would line the bottom and sides of each hole of a silicone muffin tin.

When the pastry came out of the oven from blind baking, the ones in the muffin tin looked far better so I filled those first and used the leftover mixture for the square tin.

And here they are! The individual tarts came out beautifully and slid out of the silicone tin with ease and no sign of a soggy bottom! They tasted pretty good too, particularly when served with the remains of the lemon curd creme fraiche - yum!

And the square tin? Well, the tart came out and, again, no soggy bottom. There were a few moments while trimming off the excess pastry around the top when I felt like I was part of a Carry On film. As I hacked and sawed at the pastry, bits flew off ricocheting into other bits, travelling all over the worktop, me and the floor! Despite that, it was equally as delicious. A bit on the flat side because I'd used most of the filling for the individual tarts but this seemed to give it a chewy texture with a crisp top.

And so the message for today? All's well that ends well :-)

Hope you're having a lovely weekend. We're have a day out tomorrow and I can't wait! Hopefully I'll get some good photos and will share later in the week. x

Button brooches

It was a craftier Christmas than usual as I made presents for two friends this year. As well as knitting a scarf, I made button brooches. Both were inspired by this simple brooch I made for myself some time ago. Three buttons were stacked and secured by cord through the button holes. A brooch bar was sewn to a circle of felt and the felt glued to the back of the largest button.

After playing with felt flowers here and here, I decided to incorporate both ideas for the presents.

The first brooch was made to match the Galaxy scarf. I was pretty sure Sue would like it but, to test the theory, I wore my own when we met up. Success! Not only did she admire it but she asked how it was made.

And this is Sue's brooch. Her favourite colour at the moment is lime green so that gave me the contrast colour to go with the purple of the scarf. She likes big and bold accessories so I was sure this would fit the bill.

As the buttons on this one seemed quite heavy, I added some extra stitching to attach the buttons to the felt backing to give it extra strength.

The second brooch was made to match this red and silver ruffle scarf which I made Gill for her birthday. The yarn is Rico Can Can Glitz. There's a lady who makes ruffle scarves to raise funds for the church so I think everyone in our village owns one of these!

A different colour scheme and a slightly simpler design which Gill will prefer. I think this one was my favourite. Which is yours?

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It's been a quiet day of the usual domestic stuff: supermarket shopping, washing/drying/ironing, cleaning the car. I've also been transferring my files onto USBs as my PC is showing signs of being on its last legs - it's started to forget what day and time it is. I do that all the time too but I think it's more serious in a PC! Can't complain really as it is about 14 years old so is ancient in technology terms.

Tomorrow we're going to see Les Miserables at the pictures. It's Dad's favourite musical though I've never seen it and the reviews have been good. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. x

Galaxy Scarf

Do you remember back in November I teased you with some knitting I was doing as a Christmas present? Well, now that the big day has passed, I can reveal it was a scarf.

The wool is King Cole Galaxy (shade 688) and the pattern was free from the Black Sheep Wools web site. It's triangular in shape and takes just one ball of wool. You basically start by casting on 3 stitches and increase 1 stitch at the end of every row until there is just enough wool left to cast off. Each row was meant to be knitted but I thought it looked a little boring so created a striped pattern by alternating blocks of 5 rows of stocking stitch (knit a row, purl a row etc).

The wool knitted up beautifully - soft, light and delicate. Once the scarf was finished, each point was decorated with 3 beads (all from Hobbycraft).

And this is the finished scarf. Ta-dah! I had a text from Sue on Boxing Day to say that she loved the scarf and the matching brooch I also made...but that's another post ;-)

Christmas pot-pourri

As part of our Christmas decorations I bought some pot-pourri to scent the house over the festive period. Although it smells lovely, when I put it out I thought it looked a little plain. I rummaged around in my craft box and amongst our rejected decorations and came up with these mini-toadstools, red beads and gold-tinted ivy leaves.

The resulting pot-pourri was just that bit more interesting with a touch of extra shape, colour and sparkle.

And, if you're looking for a last minute gift idea, how about this one? In a local garden centre they had pot-pourri for sale in jars with holes in the lid to let out the scent. I just added a standard lid, covered it with some pretty Christmassy fabric and decorated it with ribbons. A 'pick' gives a hint of some of the elements inside.

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Chickpea's boyfriend stayed with us last week as it was their 2nd anniversary. It must be love as not only did she clean both her bedroom and the bathroom unprompted but she made him these absolutely yummy chocolate chip cookies. The recipe by Felicity Cloake was billed as the 'perfect' cookies and I think she might be right. We'll definitely be using this recipe again. The following day, we had them for dessert sandwiched with ice cream - mmmmmm!

This week there were two Secret Santas: one at work and one at my yoga class. There was also a Christmas lunch and another Jacob's Join (thanks for your suggestions of dishes - plenty of ideas for next year). Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take part in any of these as I've been laid low with a bad back. It's been soooo frustrating not to be able to take part in the festivities. Still, I'm on the mend and should be fine in time for Christmas. I'm determined to be better for Carols by Candlelight on Sunday as, for me, that's the start of Christmas proper.

Hope your Christmas preparations are going well and according to plan!

Christmas market

Last weekend I visited the Christmas markets in Manchester with some friends. We go every year as one of our Christmas traditions. Usually Chickpea would come too but, at the last minute, a friend invited her for a sleepover and that was a more attractive proposition than shopping with Mum!

The markets have grown over the years and now take place in several locations around the city. We decided to start our explorations in Albert Square overlooked by Father Christmas outside the Town Hall.

The decorations would look better in the dark but I thought the trees still looked so pretty strung with lights. This view with the street lights and the town hall reminded me of France for some reason.

On the outer edge of the market were the plant stalls. The windmill might be a clue of the nationality of the stallholders!

I was very tempted by this little guy but I still had lots of gifts to buy at this point so had to leave him behind.

It was pretty chilly around the market despite it being absolutely packed with people. A hot warming drink was called for so we headed off to a quieter part of the market for a mug of Gluhwein (with an added shot of rum in mine!). The design of these mugs changes every year and they are very collectable. I preferred to hand it back for the return of my £2 deposit.

Just after this photo was taken, a black and orange ladybird landed on the mug and proceeded to run round and round the rim as if on a race track. I don't know what she was doing out in the cold but the fumes from the Gluhwein seemed to perk her up! She certainly kept us entertained for a few minutes before I had to brush her away so I could finish the wine.

Suitably refreshed, we headed off to St Ann's Square to see more of the stalls. This had some lovely glassware and I thought one would be perfect for a friend.



There were several stalls selling 'propellors' this year. Some, like these, were tea light holders. Others were plain or painted wooden versions. I'd already bought the snowflake version in the bottom row from a garden centre but I did buy one of the others in this photo as a gift.

Talking of propellors, this enormous version was outside Selfridges and there was another one near the Town Hall.

As darkness fell, so did the rain. Luckily we'd finished our tour of the markets by this point so with this last photo of the lights, we said our goodbyes after a lovely day soaking up the Christmassy atmosphere. I managed to pick up a few presents but still have lots to find. How's your Christmas shopping going?

Our house is still a relatively Christmas-free zone other than the chocolate advent calendar. Next weekend we'll be putting up the decorations and then it will be countdown to the big day!